Ever since Xbox started acquiring these big developers and publishers, we've probably all thought about the synergy we might possibly see from Microsoft's gaming division, but that hasn't really happened just yet. At large, these developers and publishers within Xbox seem pretty separate - but finally, we're at least seeing some signs of this Xbox crossover life we envisaged.
Those signs are emitting from Minecraft Blast; a new Minecraft mobile game announced this week. What's unique about this particular project is that it's a collaboration between Xbox Game Studio Mojang and Activision's King team; the folks behind Candy Crush. This is the first time we've really seen a direct collab between two such parties at Microsoft.
Here's how the team is describing the project in its infancy:
"Mojang Studios is teaming up with our talented sister studio King (creators of Candy Crush Saga) to work on a new, Minecraft-themed mobile project: Minecraft Blast!
We’re extremely early days with this project and plan to start rolling out small, limited-run tests in select markets to help us gather early feedback and involve our community from the start.
We’re excited to be on this journey with King and looking forward to sharing more in the future as the project progresses."
Alongside this initial setup, Mojang has also posted a big FAQ on its official announcement blog. There, the team goes into further detail about the partnership. "This project is a joint collaboration between two world-class teams doing what they do best, together. King's mobile mastery combined with Mojang Studios’ creativity is a strong partnership", the studio adds.
The FAQ also describes Minecraft Blast as featuring "free to play modern match puzzle gameplay with ever-evolving scenarios" that includes "the ability to unlock and build imaginative Minecraft-style spaces". The game's gradual rollout begins on the Apple app store, before "more mobile platforms" come into play down the line.
Anyway, we can't say we're big mobile game nuts here at Pure Xbox, but it's at least nice to see two big Microsoft Gaming teams get together and collaborate like this. Here's hoping more cool projects come from similar Xbox crossovers in future!