Llamas, pigs and cows will roam part of London in Minecraft Earth event

Jolly Llamas, Muddy Pigs and Mooblooms will appear in London over the next few weekends as part of the launch of Minecraft Earth.

The mobile game uses augmented reality technology and the power in smartphones to seamlessly blend a computer-generated world with a player’s real-life surroundings. They can collect items and go on adventures as they fully immerse themselves in the popular block-filled world.

An exclusive in-game adventure will be set up on Queens Walk, South Bank, for three consecutive weekends, starting on November 16. The pop-up will feature life-sized statues of the Muddy Pig and Moobloom mobs, as well as the Jolly Llama, which will be available for players in the game once they complete a challenge.

Sax Persson, Head of Minecraft Earth, previewed  the statues at X019 in London earlier this week. He said nothing like the game “had been attempted before at scale”.

Minecraft Earth uses a combination of Microsoft technologies such as Azure Spatial Anchors, which allow different players to interact with the same computer-generated constructions, challenges and buildplates in the real world.

“It allows us to create a shared session,” Persson added. “You can stand there and I can stand here, and when we look at each other we are in the same Minecraft world.”

He also spoke about the parental controls Minecraft Earth has in place to keep players safe, including the option to block multiplayer interactions. Unique to the augmented reality genre, Minecraft Earth also maps areas where it is not safe or suitable to play.

“We have spent a lot of time trying to generate locations where we think it’s an appropriate place to play together,” he added. “You can also report locations that are not a good place to play – such as private property – from inside the app. Players can give us feedback so we can adjust where we place games. We use all the tools Microsoft has, both for scale, privacy and safety.”

Minecraft Earth is now available in early access across the UK and eight other countries.