With many schools shut down, Minecraft is looking to help parents enhance their children’s education in a fun way. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer told gamers and parents in a statement on Tuesday, March 24, that Minecraft can show everyone that we’re “living and learning through this together.” Spencer believes Minecraft is a great way for children to stay in touch with their friends while adhering to social distancing guidelines and hopes to help further children’s learning during this difficult time by adding educational content to the Minecraft Marketplace. All content is free through June 30 and is available on all versions of Minecraft for Bedrock platforms, including all current-generation home consoles, PC, Android, and iOS. By downloading different worlds, kids can take part in lesson plans that feature various tasks such as creative writing assignments, puzzles, and build challenges. Players can take an educational journey to the International Space Station thanks to a partnership with NASA, visit historical landmarks in Washington D.C., and learn how to code with the assistance of a robot pal. Other topics covered include marine biology, Greek history, renewable energy, and how to build 3D fractals. Microsoft credits Everbloom, Jigarbov, Lifeboat, Razzleberries, The World Foundry, Blockworks, and Imagiverse as the creators of these new worlds. Spencer notes that Minecraft has a wide array of family settings, so parents can set restrictions for their children while playing. He hopes that screen time limits and content filters will help families “balance gaming with offline schoolwork and other responsibilities.” If children are unfamiliar with the popular game or have accessibility needs, there is a copilot feature that can help teach them how to play and aid them as it allows two controllers to control the game. “We understand the important role gaming is playing right now to connect people and provide joy in these isolating and stressful times,” Spencer told fans in his open letter. “Our teams are working diligently to ensure we can be there for our players. To that end, we are actively monitoring performance and usage trends to ensure we’re optimizing the service for our customers worldwide and accommodating for new growth and demand.” You’ve taken the plunge and picked up a fresh Nintendo Switch 2 console, ready to explore the latest and greatest games the system has to offer, but where do you start? There are more than the initial launch games to pick from now, but the library is still growing and most of the high-profile games like Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond aren’t out just yet. Whether it is just to help justify the purchase of a new console to yourself, or if you want to show off your fancy new hardware to friends and family, these are the most impressive games you can get right now on the Switch 2. The September Nintendo Direct was, generally speaking, considered one of the best presentations Nintendo has had in years. The show opened with Shigeru Miyamoto detailing all the plans for how the company would be celebrating Mario’s 450th birthday. This included a look at the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy movie, Switch 2 Edition of Mario Wonder, and the return of the two Galaxy games. That last reveal was especially exciting for a few reasons. First is that the only way to play the first Galaxy game is to either own a copy for the Wii or to have purchased the 3D All-Stars bundle during its unnecessarily limited availability window. Galaxy 2, on the other hand, wasn’t part of that bundle and has never been available on modern consoles until now. For a truly immersive gaming experience, you should check out gaming headset deals. If you’re planning to get one, make it the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, which is Best Buy is selling with a $115 discount that brings its price down from $380 to a more affordable $265. We don’t know how much time is remaining before this offer expires though, so you should finalize your purchase as soon as possible if you want to make sure that you pocket the savings. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.

With many schools shut down, Minecraft is looking to help parents enhance their children’s education in a fun way. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer told gamers and parents in a statement on Tuesday, March 24, that Minecraft can show everyone that we’re “living and learning through this together.” Spencer believes Minecraft is a great way for children to stay in touch with their friends while adhering to social distancing guidelines and hopes to help further children’s learning during this difficult time by adding educational content to the Minecraft Marketplace. All content is free through June 30 and is available on all versions of Minecraft for Bedrock platforms, including all current-generation home consoles, PC, Android, and iOS. By downloading different worlds, kids can take part in lesson plans that feature various tasks such as creative writing assignments, puzzles, and build challenges. Players can take an educational journey to the International Space Station thanks to a partnership with NASA, visit historical landmarks in Washington D.C., and learn how to code with the assistance of a robot pal. Other topics covered include marine biology, Greek history, renewable energy, and how to build 3D fractals. Microsoft credits Everbloom, Jigarbov, Lifeboat, Razzleberries, The World Foundry, Blockworks, and Imagiverse as the creators of these new worlds. Spencer notes that Minecraft has a wide array of family settings, so parents can set restrictions for their children while playing. He hopes that screen time limits and content filters will help families “balance gaming with offline schoolwork and other responsibilities.” If children are unfamiliar with the popular game or have accessibility needs, there is a copilot feature that can help teach them how to play and aid them as it allows two controllers to control the game. “We understand the important role gaming is playing right now to connect people and provide joy in these isolating and stressful times,” Spencer told fans in his open letter. “Our teams are working diligently to ensure we can be there for our players. To that end, we are actively monitoring performance and usage trends to ensure we’re optimizing the service for our customers worldwide and accommodating for new growth and demand.” You’ve taken the plunge and picked up a fresh Nintendo Switch 2 console, ready to explore the latest and greatest games the system has to offer, but where do you start? There are more than the initial launch games to pick from now, but the library is still growing and most of the high-profile games like Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond aren’t out just yet. Whether it is just to help justify the purchase of a new console to yourself, or if you want to show off your fancy new hardware to friends and family, these are the most impressive games you can get right now on the Switch 2. The September Nintendo Direct was, generally speaking, considered one of the best presentations Nintendo has had in years. The show opened with Shigeru Miyamoto detailing all the plans for how the company would be celebrating Mario’s 450th birthday. This included a look at the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy movie, Switch 2 Edition of Mario Wonder, and the return of the two Galaxy games. That last reveal was especially exciting for a few reasons. First is that the only way to play the first Galaxy game is to either own a copy for the Wii or to have purchased the 3D All-Stars bundle during its unnecessarily limited availability window. Galaxy 2, on the other hand, wasn’t part of that bundle and has never been available on modern consoles until now. For a truly immersive gaming experience, you should check out gaming headset deals. If you’re planning to get one, make it the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, which is Best Buy is selling with a $115 discount that brings its price down from $380 to a more affordable $265. We don’t know how much time is remaining before this offer expires though, so you should finalize your purchase as soon as possible if you want to make sure that you pocket the savings. Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.