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Microsoft's answer to Pokémon Gois finally ready for showtime.

Minecraft Earthis an augmented reality game in the vein Niantic's 2017 hit, and its "early access" phase of release is officially set to begin in October. Fans interested in participating can sign up starting on Sep. 28 at the game's website.

Signing up means you'll be notified when Minecraft Earthlaunches in your country. Microsoft's plan is to roll out the early access in smaller markets – exactly where isn't clear – and then expand into other countries once everything is running OK. The plan is to have worldwide availability by the 2019 holidays.

It's not clear exactly how much of the Minecraft Earthexperience will be featured during the early access period, but it definitely won't be the full game. Adventures will be there for sure, though.

Adventures are randomly generated challenges that plunge you into a life-size version of Minecraft(as seen through your smartphone or tablet's screen). It's designed as a "social multiplayer" experience.

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In a demo shown on stage at Minecon 2019, we got to see an Adventure that started with a color-matching puzzle involving flowers and flower pots. Once that was done, a swarm of zombies appeared that needed to be defeated, followed by a group of skeletons. The reward for doing all of that was a Moobloom – a flowery cow that plants flowers as it walks. (Don't ask questions, Minecraftis weird.)

That's only one piece of Minecraft Earth. Just like the main game, the overall experience is about gathering resources, crafting supplies, and building out your own piece of the world. The simplest stage of that process is Tappables, which can get basic materials and mobs into your inventory.

Adventures are more involved, and completing them nets you rarer resources than you'd get from Tappables. All of those pieces then come together on your buildplate, which is where you actually build out your own little piece of the Minecraft Earthworld.

I sampled Minecraft Earthearlier in 2019 at the annual E3 trade show and came away impressed. It immediately feels more involved and varied than Pokémon Go, tapping into the various facets of Minecraftthat have made it so sticky over the past decade.

SEE ALSO:'Minecraft Earth' puts a 'Pokémon Go' spin on your favorite blocky building game

I do wonder what Minecraft Earthwill look like for players in more far-flung locations. It's an issue that Pokémon Goplayers have faced with limitations on PokeStops and Gyms in rural and even suburban spots. Working in Minecraft Earth's favor is the fact that much of what you find in the game is randomly generated, so it's not necessarily dependent on established landmarks.

I asked Microsoft about this exact issue at E3, and while it was a little early to make specific promises, the gist of what I was told is: the Minecraft Earthexperience will improve over time as more people sign on in a given area. It's all because of the way the game's random generation features are wired.

That's all we know about the early access launch for now, but sign up if you're curious so you can be one of the first to play after Minecraft Eartharrives in your region.

TopicsGamingVirtual Reality