Two weeks ago, Microsoft announced that they purchased MinecraftEDU from Teacher Gaming, LLC. This is a cool step and a necessary one for Microsoft to keep growing the Minecraft brand. After all, they need make back and profit from Minecraft after the purchase from Mojang. The interesting thing about this acquisition is that this summer, Microsoft will be releasing a beta version of Minecraft: Education Edition. This new edition of Minecraft will be written in C++ and not Java (the Windows 10 edition is also coded in C++)!
As a huge Minecraft fan myself, this is something I've been hoping from Mojang for quite some time. Java is good for multi-platform, but it's not the best framework for games. Java isn't the most optimized system to run servers with, not to mention all the security issues Java brings with it. While I believe this is a good move in the long term (and I'd like to see this carry over to the other versions of Minecraft), it creates a awkward situation for the Minecraft community, especially for developers of mods and plugins.
The reason there is concern is that everything that has been developed by the community in terms of mods and plugins, will not work with a C++ version. Microsoft has promised that Education Edition will eventually support what the Java versions does, that will take time though. It will take time from the developer standpoint in learning the new structure on the C++ code, but at least Microsoft has added support to their Visual Studio software to make it easier for developers to develop (see this to understand. :P)
There is also the fact that there are two different code bases now. I'm sure any developer would agree that it's not the best choice to run the same software (more or less) on two different frameworks. It means more work to keep them up-to-date and add features. This could bring quite a stir from the Minecraft community, but as long as Microsoft plays their cards right (and they have with Minecraft so far), it should bring a lot more to Minecraft in the long term. I look forward to seeing Minecraft continue to develop, even with the upcoming 1.9 update and how quite a few are upset with the changes to combat. Keep up the great work Microsoft!
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