Skip to main content GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love Search GamesRadar+ View Profile Entertainment Tabletop Gaming Toys & Collectibles Retro Gamer Total Film Gaming Magazines Why subscribe? Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99View Nintendo Switch 2 Elden Ring Nightreign Oscars 2025 Adventure Games Minecraft Pocket Edition got its name because one of its devs was a big "Nintendo nerd" who wanted to pay homage to the Game Boy Pocket By Issy van der Velde published 11 March 2025 It's still the Pocket Edition in my heart When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Mojang) Minecraft is one of those games that's on just about every platform imaginable. Its mobile version used to adorably be called the Pocket Edition, and now we know why: one of its developers is a massive Nintendo nerd. "A bit sad to see that the naming 'Minecraft: Pocket Edition' is completely gone nowadays, but understandable," tweets Daniel Kaplan, a founding member of Mojang, co-founder of Coffee Stain, and current CEO of Keepsake Games. "Why Minecraft was called Pocket Edition and not Mobile Edition on mobiles? Because I’m a Nintendo nerd, and it was a nod to Game Boy Pocket." You may like A developer porting Minecraft to the Dreamcast is now able to "Blast through an existing world file at 2,800 km/h" 25 games like Minecraft to play that will let your imagination run wild I'll be honest, this is the first I'm hearing of the Game Boy Pocket. Turns out it was a refinement of the original Game Boy that was smaller, lighter, and had a better display. I only started with the Game Boy Advance, but I did have a Color too. Now, Minecraft's mobile version is called the Bedrock Edition, so named because there are two versions of the game; the Java Edition runs on Java while the Bedrock Edition runs C++. This is why some farms work on one version of the game but not the other, the underlying code itself is different. Nowadays, it's quite common for mobile games to have the Pocket subheading. Pokemon TCG Pocket is the most recent example I can think of, and that game's been consuming a lot of my waking hours this last month or so. I just can't get enough of the card collecting, and now that I have a proper Darkrai and Weaville ex deck, I'm unstoppable in PvP. If you're looking for something similar to play, check out our list of all the best games like Minecraft you can get stuck into. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. See more Mobile Gaming News Mobile Gaming Xbox Series X Nintendo Switch PlayStation Issy van der Velde Social Links Navigation Contributor I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. A developer porting Minecraft to the Dreamcast is now able to "Blast through an existing world file at 2,800 km/h" 25 games like Minecraft to play that will let your imagination run wild OG Minecraft creator "basically announced Minecraft 2" in the oddest way, but he won't "sneakily infringe" on Mojang's work The PlayStation got its iconic name after legendary lead Ken Kutaragi saw how PCs were called "workstations," reveals Sony veteran Shuhei Yoshida Minecraft modder uses "3 hours of my life that I'll never get back" to create a new mod that gives Steve Jack Black's voice Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator returns after insider trading scandal to announce update to obscure pirate-themed coin pusher game: "I had to update a lot of things" Latest in Minecraft Minecraft Pocket Edition got its name because one of its devs was a big "Nintendo nerd" who wanted to pay homage to the Game Boy Pocket Minecraft modder uses "3 hours of my life that I'll never get back" to create a new mod that gives Steve Jack Black's voice A developer porting Minecraft to the Dreamcast is now able to "Blast through an existing world file at 2,800 km/h" Notch cancels the "Minecraft 2" he announced days prior because spiritual successors are "always kinda sad nostalgia dumps" OG Minecraft creator "basically announced Minecraft 2" in the oddest way, but he won't "sneakily infringe" on Mojang's work Minecraft is the winner of the Still Playing Award at the Golden Joystick Awards 2024 Latest in News Minecraft Pocket Edition got its name because one of its devs was a big "Nintendo nerd" who wanted to pay homage to the Game Boy Pocket Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding's themes of connection came about because "I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago" Monster Hunter Wilds' infamously confusing menus spare no player, not even Gemma's voice actor herself: "This is honestly what I’m struggling with the most" Hideo Kojima says "it was very difficult to direct" Death Stranding 2's big kiss scene, but Norman Reedus thinks "it was niiice" locking lips with Léa Seydoux 30 years after the original Age of Apocalypse, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel to the alt-reality to save X-Men history Balatro creator says it's "useless" for him to give advice to other devs because "I only have one data point" and it was a 5 million-sale success story More about minecraft Minecraft modder uses "3 hours of my life that I'll never get back" to create a new mod that gives Steve Jack Black's voice A developer porting Minecraft to the Dreamcast is now able to "Blast through an existing world file at 2,800 km/h" Monster Hunter Wilds players are tricking the action RPG into thinking they completed hunt quests in mere seconds using the power of poison ammo See more latest Most Popular Monster Hunter Wilds players are tricking the action RPG into thinking they completed hunt quests in mere seconds using the power of poison ammo 30 years after the original Age of Apocalypse, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel to the alt-reality to save X-Men history Monster Hunter Wilds' infamously confusing menus spare no player, not even Gemma's voice actor herself: "This is honestly what I’m struggling with the most" Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding's themes of connection came about because "I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago" Hideo Kojima says "it was very difficult to direct" Death Stranding 2's big kiss scene, but Norman Reedus thinks "it was niiice" locking lips with Léa Seydoux Game of Thrones author George R.R. 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