Microsoft are to launch an " education edition " of Minecraft that will offer teachers new ways to use the popular world - building video game in a range of subjects . Microsoft paid £ 2.5bn for the developer of Minecraft , Mojang , last year and bought the 4-year old MinecraftEdu version of the game from Finland - based independent developer , TeacherGaming , and now promises to add features , however , they will face extra costs . Over 7,000 schools already use Minecraft in some form , however , Microsoft says that once they make the game easier for schools they predict the number of classrooms will significantly grow . At the same time , it will also help Microsoft promote its word processing , email and file - sharing apps over rival services from Google and others .
Microsoft are to launch an "education edition" of Minecraft that will offer teachers new ways to use the popular world-building video game in a range of subjects. Microsoft paid £2.5bn for the creators of Minecraft, Mojang, last year and bought the 4-year old MinecraftEdu version of the game from Finland-based independent developer, TeacherGaming, and now promises to add features, however, schools may face extra costs. Over 7,000 classrooms already use Minecraft in some form, however, Microsoft says that once they make the tools easier for schools they predict the number of classrooms will significantly grow. At the same time, it will also help Microsoft promote its word processing, email and file-sharing apps over rival services from Google and others.