'Minecraft' Is Getting a Massive Update On PlayStation and Xbox

With all this talk about updates to Minecraft's Java, Windows and Pocket Edition versions, what about the consoles, currently missing a slew of coveted PC version features? Microsoft just unveiled a trove of new elements -- some long-awaited, others bolt-from-the-blue -- designed to shore up the PlayStation and Xbox versions of the company's freeform builder in late December. Dubbed the "Holiday Update" (and, as usual, free to existing owners), it'll bring the elusive Elytra glider to the game (think capes that let you "fly"). Better still, console owners will get a formerly Java exclusive feature dubbed "Amplified Terrain" that'll let players rejigger a world's hundreds of thousands (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U) on up to tens of millions (PS4, Xbox One) of blocks, to create topographical extremities sure to impress any virtual alpinist. Microsoft says the update includes new mobs, items and status effects, as well as user interface, game and tutorial changes.