Cult video game Minecraft to get November release

IT'S already made tens of millions of dollars in sales, and it hasn't even been released yet.

Minecraft

IT'S already made tens of millions of dollars in sales, and it hasn't even been released yet.

Not officially, anyway.

The "full" version of Minecraft, one of the world's most popular cult games, is set to be launched on November 11.

The game, in which players let their imagination run wild and build fantastical structures, has been in development for about two years.

Early versions of the game have attracted millions of users and racked up at least $US33 million ($31 million) in sales.

 Read our earlier feature on Minecraft

The game will cost €20 ($27) when it's launched, but early adopters can buy and play the beta version now for just €14.95 ($20.50) and get an upgrade to the full version later.

Other games to get release dates last week include The Hidden, for the new Nintendo 3DS, and PC title PlanetSide Next.

The Hidden uses the 3DS cameras to take real-world environments and make them part of a ghost hunt.

It's due out "just in time for Halloween," much like 2010's trick or treating title Costume Quest, so should be released in mid to late October.

PlanetSide Next is the provisional title for a long-awaited sequel to the hugely influential PC game PlanetSide.

The 2003 original is still considered to be the definitive massively-multiplayer online first person shooter.

PlanetSide Next had been tentatively expected in March, but will now come "a little later in the year", according to Sony Online entertainment president John Smedley.

With AFP Relax