Mojang has revealed that Minecraft: Education Edition will be available to schools come November 1.
The education-flavored variant of the game – which was built from MinecraftEdu after Microsoft snapped the project up – was expected to be launched at some point this summer when the retooled version was announced at the beginning of the year.
Obviously that didn't happen, and early access testing has been going on for some time – since June in fact, with over 35,000 beta testers taking part – but now a firm launch date has been set, and some details of new features which will grace the full release of the Education Edition have been spilled.
T is for teleportation
The biggest of which will be the Classroom Mode, which is a companion app that essentially gives the teacher full management and control over the Minecraft world – or to put it another way, it makes them a GM.
The app displays an overview and map of the world, lists the players, provides a chat window, along with various world settings that can be tweaked. Teachers can also do things like give items to pupils, or teleport them across the world.
Mojang also promises that the Education Edition will include new game features drawn from other editions of Minecraft, and it'll get all the latest updates as seen in the Windows 10 Edition beta such as leads and horses, player skins and so forth.
When Minecraft: Education Edition goes live at the start of November, it will cost $5 (around £4, AU$7) per user, per year. Until then, you can still try the game out for free via the early access version, which will remain available right up until the full product launches.
Via: Windows Central
