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Minecraft 'Should' Ship On PS Vita, Says Microsoft Exec

Xbox boss Phil Spencer appears hopeful game can still be supported on rival platform.

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Following the big news on Monday that Microsoft had acquired the Minecraft franchise in a $2.5 billion deal, the company said it plans to "continue to make Minecraft available" across non-Microsoft platforms like iOS, Android, and PlayStation, as well as Xbox and PC, of course.

But what about the upcoming PlayStation Vita version, which is the only version of the game announced for a major platform but still to be released? Should gamers still expect that version to be released? One fan asked Xbox boss Phil Spencer that very question on Twitter, and the Microsoft executive said the game "should" come to the platform, though he didn't confirm it.

In its own post about selling to Microsoft, Mojang wrote that "there's no reason for the development, sales, and support of the PC/Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, iOS, and Android versions to stop." However, the company cautioned that "Microsoft can't make decisions for other companies or predict the choices that they might make in the future."

The Microsoft-Mojang deal was only announced Monday, and like Spencer said, it has not yet closed. Pending standard closing conditions and a possible regulatory review, Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang is expected to close in "late 2014." Until then, we may not get any further clarification about the future of Minecraft and how Microsoft will treat versions of the game for competing platforms.

In the meantime, Minecraft is playable on PS Vita through Remote Play. The standalone PS Vita version is expected to launch sometime before the end of the year.

Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch

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