Even Microsoft ‘has given up on Windows Phone’

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Microsoft will no longer develop Minecraft for Windows Phone

Minecraft has become an enormous success for developer Mojang, now owned by Microsoft.

The mobile version of the hugely-popular video game is a top-selling title on both Android and iOS.

Unfortunately, the Microsoft-owned studio has decided to stop updating the Windows Phone version of the game.

According to a new report from Windows Central, the Windows Phone version of Minecraft Pocket Edition will no longer receive any updates or patches.

Microsoft-owned Mojang has reportedly decided to stop developing for Windows Phone because there are not enough players to justify the development costs.

Citing a number of unnamed sources, Windows Central claims that the Windows Phone version of the game gets so little playtime from those who have the app installed on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 devices that it is no longer financially viable to spend time updating it.

Even though it will no longer be updated, the Windows Phone version of Minecraft Pocket Edition will remain in the Windows Phone app marketplace, the site claims.

Granted, this does not signal the end of Windows Phone.

However the fact that Microsoft's own developer studio has decided to no longer update its Windows Phone app is not a great indication of things to come.

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Microsoft-owned developer studio Mojang will no longer update the Windows Phone version of the game

Windows Phone has seen a steady decline in users over the last year.

The operating system dropped from a 1.2 per cent market share at the end of 2015, to a new low of 0.3 per cent by the end of Microsoft's third financial quarter in 2016.

Windows Phone will have to attract more users in order to entice developers to develop for the platform.

Meanwhile, the Redmond technology firm is increasingly moving focus to rival platforms.

It released an enormously-successful, touch-optimised version of Microsoft Office on iOS ahead of its own smartphone platform, and has also retooled the record-breaking keyboard from Windows Phone for the Apple App Store, too.

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Microsoft has ported its world record breaking Word Flow keyboard, pictured on Windows Phone, to iOS

Whether Microsoft can begin to turn around its dwindling market share with the long-rumoured Surface Phone remains to be seen.

The Intel-powered smartphone is expected to ship alongside the next blockbuster update to Windows 10 Mobile, dubbed Redstone 3.

Surface Phone is believed to be a flagship smartphone with an industrial design similar to the Surface Book and Pro 4 tablet.

Like the Surface Book laptop and Surface Pro 4 tablet before it, the Surface smartphone is expected to ship with flagship materials and a premium price tag to match.

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Surface Vice President Panos Panay and his team are believed to be looking into building an all-metal case for the smartphone, which will run Windows 10 Mobile.

Industry sources claim Intel is heavily involved in the smartphone project.

The hugely successful chipmaker could help the Surface smartphone bridge the gap between a smartphone and a productive mobile device.

Microsoft has previously hinted at these ambitions with its recent Lumia 950 series which, thanks to a recent Windows 10 upgrade, can be plugged into any external display and run full-screen desktop apps.

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