Coronavirus: Free educational Minecraft games announced for children amid school closures

The games are free to download until July

Microsoft has made some of its educational Minecraft games freely available online as schools close worldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A post on the Minecraft website states: “It’s easy to get scared at a time like this, which is why focusing on something can help you stay calm.”

“Educators around the world are doing everything they can to provide digital lessons for the half a billion students who are out of school due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not an easy task and we want to do our part to help keep young minds sharp and stimulated.”

The announcement reveals that a host of lessons from the Minecraft: Education Edition - a specialised version of the hit block-building game that was designed for classroom use – will be available to download for free from the Minecraft Marketplace until 30 June, 2020.

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has also written about the importance of gaming during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We understand the important role gaming is playing right now to connect people and provide joy in these isolating and stressful times, and our teams are working diligently to ensure we can be there for our players”, he said.

“With hundreds of millions of kids at home due to coronavirus-related school closures more kids are going online to spend time with their friends, explore online worlds and learn through play.”

You can keep up-to-date with the latest coronavirus news here.