Windows Mobile will now see a major hole in its already wide app gap as Minecraft: Pocket Edition will cease updates on the platform.
Sources confirmed to Windows Central that Minecraft: Pocket Edition will be ending support for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 mobile devices.
It is reported the amount of time users spend on Minecraft: Pocket Edition on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 mobile is very low. So low that it doesn’t seem to be worth developer Mojang’s time to continue supporting the platform. The game will still remain available for download, but new features will be absent.
As of now, it’s uncertain if Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition will continue to see updates. While both Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition were updated simultaneously, both are still separate apps and are not part of the Universal Windows Platform.
This comes as surprising news as Microsoft purchased Mojang for $2.5 billion in 2014. Although Mojang is under the Microsoft umbrella, Minecraft would continue to be supported and updated for Sony, Nintendo, iOS, and Android platforms.
Windows Mobile has seen a steep decline ever since Satya Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft. Under Steve Ballmer, there seemed to be more emphasis put on the platform. Nadella even caught the ire of investors for doing such a poor job with bringing Microsoft-made apps to Windows Mobile. Nadella hinted that Microsoft is waiting to reinvest with Windows Mobile on the enterprise end and is waiting for the next big leap in mobile technology.
Late in 2016, Microsoft unveiled that Windows 10 would soon be able to run on ARM processors via emulation. This was a massive technological achievement and points to Microsoft eyeing to create a true all-in-one phone/computer hybrid. Patents also surfaced of a new mobile device that can fold out into a tablet. Many believe this could be the long-rumored Surface phone.
Regardless of future conjecture, now may not be the best time to be a Windows Mobile fan.
