In the midst of all the E3 game reveals, one new Xbox One game announcement that you may have missed during the event was Minecraft. 4J Studios has confirmed that they are bringing the game over to Microsoft’s new console, with launch buyers able to buy the next-gen version during the ‘launch window’ of the Xbox One.

While this is amazing news for those planning to jump straight into the Xbox One, we do have one major piece of information to give you, which is unlikely to go down well. If you buy the Xbox One version, you’ll have to start your Minecraft campaign from scratch, as Microsoft has confirmed that game saves from the Xbox 360 will not be transferrable.

The reason for this according to Microsoft exec Phil Spencer is largely due to the same reason why backwards compatibility isn’t coming to the Xbox One. Spencer has said that the next-gen version is coming to a ‘new system’ and therefore will be a ‘new product’ separating it from the Xbox 360 version.

As a result, we have been promised bigger worlds with larger maps and expanded multiplayer features. Although Minecraft will be amazing to pick up on the Xbox One, it’s still a disappointment that the functionality isn’t there to transfer data over from the Xbox 360 version.

Hopefully developers 4J Studios will find a way to make this possible, as they’ll know deep down that the majority of new Xbox One owners will want to make use of this. With the game now possible on next-gen hardware, we’re presuming that it means that all Minecraft environments on Xbox One will be truly endless to match what is possible on the PC version.

Will you be picking up Minecraft on Xbox One, despite the fact that you won’t be able to transfer data from Xbox 360?

We have some good news for Xbox 360 owners now, especially those who are yet to experience the phenomena known as Minecraft. The building game has been one of the highlights of XBLA in recent years, but now Mojang and 4J Studios are finally ready to release a disc version of the game and make a lot of Xbox 360 disc fans very happy in the process.

Although we are nearing a complete switchover to digital distribution by the day, many consumers still prefer to play their games on disc no matter what. As a result, many would have missed out on the Xbox Live Arcade version of Minecraft, but the wait is now over in the US at least.

You will be able to head to your nearest game store and pick up Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition on disc for $20. It’s the exact same price as the XBLA version and you’ll be pleased to hear that it comes with everything that has been released for the digital version to date.

That includes various skin packs and the recent End content which came with access to the Ender Dragon boss. The disc version is fully compatible with the digital version, so players will be able to connect with each other without any problems, while the disc version will continue to be updated in the same manner as the digital version as well, in relation to future title updates.

Unfortunately, the only disappointment that we can see is that Xbox 360 owners in the UK have to wait until June 28 to buy the disc version of Minecraft – we’re not sure why either since that is almost a full month later compared to US. Let us know if you have been waiting for a disc version for a long time and whether this is an absolute bargain for $20 or not.

Earlier on this week, we spoke about the exciting possibility of Minecraft potentially appearing at E3 2013 in relation to a Minecraft for PS3 or PS4 announcement. Now though, we switch our attention back to the Xbox 360 version, as developers 4J Studios have sent out a visual teaser which confirms work is already underway on the highly anticipated Minecraft Xbox 360 title update 12.

It was only a few weeks ago when we told you that Minecraft title update 11 had just gone live on the Xbox 360, an update which included a plethora of new bug fixes that should have made your game experience a more pleasurable one. Now, we’re hoping that title update 12 brings some new gameplay features rather than bug fixes, and it looks like 4J Studios are planning to deliver.

They have released an image on Twitter, teasing that title update 12 will include many new features for players to explore. One of the biggest is a new Jungle biome, Redstone Lamps, Iron Golems and wait for it – upside down stairs at last. You’ll also spot that the jungle has some new inhabitants – these have already confirmed to be the ocelots, or cats as they’ll generally be known which can be tamed by players.

Players will also be interested to know that title update 12 will also change the build height as well. For now though, upside down stairs is easily the most exciting addition to the Xbox 360 version in title update 12 so far. If you are a regular player, let us know what else you would like 4J Studios to include.

Is the game finally on par with the PC version in your eyes, or is it still too far behind?

It has been a long request for many PS3 owners for years, to see a Minecraft game come out after seeing Microsoft successfully launch an Xbox 360 version of the popular PC building game. While it still hasn’t happened yet, speculation is starting to pick up on Minecraft creator Notch possibly having an announcement to make during Sony’s E3 2013 press conference.

Minecraft on Xbox 360 remains an incredibly popular game, with Microsoft recently announcing an XBLA record with over 6 million copies of the game sold. You can bet that they would want this to continue with a Minecraft game for the Xbox One, but Minecraft creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson may have other ideas.

He recently viewed his opinions on Microsoft’s Xbox event by stating that he “tried to get excited about the Xbox One, but failed”. Over 1000 retweets later, you can also assume that Microsoft has already seen and noted that piece of feedback from Notch as well. Perhaps seizing a moment of opportunity, Sony has wasted no time in sending Notch a golden PS One as a gift, along with a VIP invite to the company’s upcoming E3 event.

While it could just be a nice gesture from Sony, we would like to believe that there are deeper ties associated with this – in relation to a possible Minecraft announcement for PS3 or even the PS4. It has been long overdue already, and with Microsoft already having had their moment and breaking records with Minecraft for the Xbox 360 – it could be time for PS3 gamers to have their share of fun.

Nothing is confirmed yet of course, but a golden PS One is obviously a pretty amazing gift out of the blue. If you are a huge fan of Minecraft, let us know if you would like to see a PS3 or PS4 version of the game announced at E3.

We have some good news for Minecraft players on Xbox 360, as we can confirm that another title update is now available to download. As usual, the list of changes is substantial and we have the official Minecraft title update 11 patch notes for you to read over and find out whether that pesky bug fix that you need has been solved or not.

It wasn’t too long ago that we were telling you about the title update 9, which finally added official support for The End, as well as the Ender Dragon boss. Now, developers 4J Studios has sent out word that title update 11 should be rolling out to all Xbox 360 owners across all regions.

It means that the update should be available the next time you boot up Minecraft, along with a vast list of new improvements to enjoy. For starters, you’ll be pleased to hear that 4J Studios have now fixed the annoying issue where an explosion lag issue would happen to clients when playing in an online session.

Also fixed, is an issue when fireballs would hang in the air in a save game, as well as a fix for the spawn limit overrun when shearing or breeding Mooshrooms. There’s also some new minor improvements, such as a notification when a user tries to spawn an enemy from a Spawn Egg in Peaceful mode.

The limit for Paintings/Item Frames, Villagers, and Snow Golems in a world has also been increased as well, which many of you should appreciate. As mentioned above, the changes should be effective in the game right now so let us know your experiences with the game after installing.

Is Minecraft on Xbox 360 still as addictive as ever?

Official patch notes in title update 11:

Fix for explosion lag issue on clients in an online game.
Fix to remove any Fireballs hanging in the air in a save game.
Fix to only show the spawn limit message to the player attempting to spawn something.
Fixed the terrain mipmaps to have the updated version of the gravel texture in them.
Fix for the spawn limit overrun when shearing or breeding Mooshrooms
Increased the limit for Paintings/Item Frames, Villagers, and Snow Golems in a world.
Display a message when the maximum Paintings/Item Frames are reached.
Display a message when the user tries to put an animal in Love Mode when the spawn limits have been reached.
Display a message when the user tries to spawn an enemy from a Spawn Egg in Peaceful mode.
Reduced Ghast sound volume

We have some fantastic news for those of you playing Minecraft on the Xbox 360, as developers 4J Studios are finally ready to release the highly anticipated Title Update 9 for the game. More importantly, it will finally give Xbox 360 players the chance to explore the new ‘The End’ content, and ultimately – allow players to do battle with the nefarious Ender Dragon.

As most of you are well aware, most of the content with Title Update 9 is already available on the PC version of Minecraft and Xbox 360 players have been trying to play catch up ever since. The release of frequent Skin Packs has helped to ease the situation somewhat, but all should be forgiven when The End finally releases.

We can tell you that you don’t have long to wait indeed, as Title Update 9 will be going live this weekend on April 5, along with another vast amount of bug fixes and enhancements that should keep you busy until the next major update arrives. The End will provide players with a challenge of having to gather materials for them to enter The End portal.

Once the requirements have been met, you’ll be transported into the End realm and be able to take on the Ender Dragon, which you’ll see an image of above. Not only will you have to take on this fearsome beast, but you’ll also have to deal with a barrage of attacks from the Endermen as well at the same time.

If you’re victorious, you’ll pocket a cool 12,000 experience points and be able to claim the Dragon Egg block, which will serve as a lovely trophy for your collection. For those that are also interested in seeing what bug fixes Title Update 9 will bring, you can view the patch notes in full over at OXM.

This weekend is now set to be a very exciting one indeed for those that have been waiting to take on the Ender Dragon for months. Let us know your strategies and plan of attack below.

Minecraft on Xbox 360 keeps on going from strength to strength it seems, with frequent updates that gamers will find it hard not to be impressed. Another update is now live in the game, adding another collection of new and intriguing skins with the arrival of the official Skin Pack 4 for the game.

The next time you head to the Xbox Live Marketplace, you should see Skin Pack 4 available to download, priced at the very reasonable 160 Microsoft Points. For this price, you’ll get a whopping 48 new skins to choose from, offering characters from some of the most well known game franchises in the industry at the moment.

For example, skins for Connor, Ezio and Altair are available from Assassin’s Creed. There’s also a red and blue spartan skin from Halo, skins from the Dragon Age series and further skins from Gears of War 3 and Borderlands. Simply put, there is a lot of variety here and skins to keep everyone happy.

If that wasn’t good enough for you, we also have confirmation that a disc-based version of Minecraft will be available to buy on the Xbox 360 starting from April 30, but only in the US. Other regions will get the game later on we hear, with all current features available now included on the disc.

How good and addictive is Minecraft on the Xbox 360 in your opinion? Is it one game that you wish was available on the PS3 and PS Vita? The good news is that this could be a real possibility once Microsoft’s exclusivity contract with Mojang runs out.

If there was one game that PlayStation fans would love to see on their PS3 or PS Vita, one of the top picks has to be Minecraft. You may not be aware, but Microsoft actually has a console exclusive on the Xbox 360 version of the game, meaning that it is unavailable for release on the PS3 for the time being.

The good news for PS3 owners though, is that the exclusivity deal is thought to be expiring soon which could pave the way for a release on the PS3 and PS Vita in the near future. While that may be wishful thinking, developer Mojang has given fans great hope that this could actually become a strong possibility before the end of the year.

Lead designer Jens Bergensten has told iGamer that when the exclusivity deal on console runs out, Minecraft will then be considered for release on PlayStation. While this is great news, he also brought some instant disappointment to Wii U owners by saying that a release on their platform was ‘very unlikely’.

That statement above tells us that it is only a matter of time before Minecraft arrives on the PS3 and if they really want to make the most of it and maximize sales – they need to include Sony’s PS Vita handheld in the mix as well. Imagine a scenario where Mojang brought out a version of the game that was playable on both PS3 and PS Vita at the same time.

It would be a perfect match for cross platform play and Sony’s popular cross buy incentive as well, where PS Vita owners would get the game for free if they purchased the PS3 version. Fans would buy the PS3 version in an instant if this was the case and it could end up being one of the best PS Vita games of the year.

The big question is when this exclusivity deal will officially end though. Will it be up in time for an announcement at Sony’s E3 conference? There is amazing cross platform potential with the PS Vita as we’ve seen with Phantasy Star Online 2. Let’s hope Minecraft is the next big game that Sony can land.

Would you like to see Minecraft with cross platform features on PS3 and PS Vita?

When the Surface RT was released it did not deliver, but it wasn’t until the Microsoft Pro Surface was set free that we got an idea of what a Windows 8 tablet come hybrid ultrabook could actually do – if you can get one of course.

One of the key features of the Pro is the ability to play PC games because of its specs and Windows 8 OS, and one game that many users will want to try out is Minecraft. There have been several reviews of Minecraft for the Surface Pro, and while many of them show that the new portable device from Microsoft is more than capable of handling the game, there were a few that showed possible flaws.

Some people have installed Minecraft onto their Surface Pro and have had no issues, but others have reported that issues with not being able to detect the mouse, while others had overheating issues. We’d love to know if you have had any such issues, and if you were able to overcome them.

Today we have a selection of Minecraft for Surface Pro video reviews, well more like comprehensive footage that shows you how well the game performs really. The first video above sees the settings maxed out to get the best from the game, and we have to say we were pretty impressed with the outcome.

Next is a Minecraft on Surface Pro performance test, although there are several issues because of recording with Fraps. However, you are advised to download OptiFine because it will help to improve performance.

The final video shows some stuttering in the game, although the reviewer did say that he did not remember experiencing that when he played Minecraft. Before we go you need to also check out these two reviews where you can see how the Surface Pro handles Skyrim and also Black Ops 2.

We have some great news for Xbox 360 players of Minecraft now, as developers 4J Studios have confirmed that a new title update is finally on the way to the game, bringing all sorts of new features and bug fixes for players to enjoy and appreciate. Title Update 8 for Minecraft is apparently nearing completion and it looks like it is going to be a sizable update as well.

The Xbox 360 version of the building sim is as popular as ever, although there has been one or two major bugs that have caused considerable frustration for players. 4J Studios are aware of the issues though and have promised around 40 fixes to be included in title update 8.

The patch notes for the new update will be out sometime next week according to a recent Tweet from a developer, while they have also revealed that Title Update 9 will add ‘The End’ to the game as well, although obviously this is still a long way from release compared to the PC version of the game.

If you are a player who enjoys using skins in the game, you’ll be pleased to hear that Skin Pack 4 is also under development as well and further skin packs may be made available in the game if there is enough demand from the community for it. As it stands though, new skins are the last thing on many Xbox 360 player’s minds, as the system freezing bugs are a priority for 4J Studios and should be sorted out before anything else.

Stay tuned to the 4J Studios Twitter account to learn when Title Update 8 will be out exactly. Let us know if you play the Xbox 360 version regularly and what you think needs to be fixed first.