Microsoft announced its AR-powered Minecraft Earth game back in May. The company’s newest Minecraft game uses augmented reality to bring Minecraft to the real-world, kind of like Pokemon Go.

Microsoft had a really impressive demo for Minecraft Earth at Apple’s WWDC conference in June, and this week, the company is officially opening up the closed beta for the new game. As promised, Microsoft is starting a closed beta for Minecraft Earth, starting with iPhones (and iPads). We understand Microsoft had the beta registration open for the last few weeks, but it’s actually officially announcing the closed beta this week.

The new game will be available as a closed beta for iOS in the next two weeks. The closed beta program has a limited number of participants, so you will have to apply as soon as possible if you want to get in.

Microsoft says an Android version of the closed beta will follow the iOS release, though it’s not providing an exact date or timeframe yet. I’m curious to see if the Android version will work on the majority of devices, considering on iPhones and iPads Microsoft can simply use Apple’s ARKit for all the AR features. But on Android, the story is very different.

Anyway, you can sign-up for the iOS closed beta for Minecraft Earth here, and we’ll let you know once it arrives for Android.

Tagged with iOS, Minecraft, Minecraft Earth