Minecraft Overworld Update Introduces New Skins, Redstone Gameplay

Microsoft and Mojang have rolled out the first major Minecraft update of the year, bringing "new gameplay functionality" to the Windows 10 Beta and Pocket Editions of the hugely-successful sandbox creation and survival game.

The Overworld Update introduces redstone components that allow for advanced mechanical objects such as repeaters, hoppers, and dispensers to be created. Also included are witches and witch huts, the ability to dye armour using cauldrons, and more. A full list of new additions can be found below.

• Finally make more advanced mechanical contraptions for your world with additional redstone components. Comparators, repeaters, dispensers, droppers, hoppers, trapped chests and various additional Minecart types will all be available. Invent all the things!
• Tangle with spooky witches and their huts during your adventures. Witch huts found while exploring swamps also now contain an exciting new feature – their cauldrons will be filled with a randomly generated potion that you can snag for your own if you’re feeling sticky-fingered.
• Speaking of cauldrons, they can now be used to dye your armor an array of beautiful colors.
• Display your coolest loot in your home with Item Frames – or mount your maps on the wall to plan your adventures with a world overview.
• Other gameplay elements new to Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Beta are slime blocks, wearable pumpkins, red sandstone as well as improved chicken jockey mobs.
• Even beyond gameplay elements, we’re also now introducing the ability to import and export maps into the Windows 10 Edition Beta, making it easier for you to share your favorite worlds with friends.
• And for those of you who love racking up Gamerscore, there are eight new achievements on the Windows 10 Edition Beta totaling 170 additional Xbox Gamerscore that you can get.
  • Camouflage – Kill a mob while wearing the same type of mob head.
  • Dispense With This – Construct a dispenser.
  • Tie Dye Outfit – Dye all 4 unique pieces of leather armor.
  • Map Room – Place 9 fully explored, adjacent maps into 9 item frames in a 3 by 3 square.
  • Trampoline Bounce – 30 blocks upward off of a slime block.
  • Freight Station – Use a Hopper to move an item from a Chest Minecart to a Chest.
  • Smelt Everything! – Connect 3 Chests to a single Furnace using 3 Hoppers.
  • Taste of Your Own Medicine – Poison a witch with a splash potion.

A Redstone Specialists skin pack has also been released. While Composer and Artisan skins are free, the rest of the pack, which features mad scientists and creators, is available for $1.99. There are a total of 15 skins in it.

Microsoft acquired the Minecraft franchise and Mojang in 2014 for the price of $2.5 billion. Creator Markus "Notch" Persson, who held a reported 70 percent stake in Mojang, left the company following the acquisition. He has since purchased a $70 million Beverly Hills mansion, outbidding Jay-Z and Beyonce for the property.