You know Minecraft. It’s got a hold on your soul. You held a party when new weather effects came to the game and doodle designs for your next creations during meetings. Your dreams? They now unfold in giant pixellated blocks. In short, Mojang‘s runaway hit owns your imagination.
But, you’ve tossed and turned at night, hoping for a way to work on your creeper-proof fortifications during your commute or even, fingers crossed, in the john. Well, ‘Notch’ (a.ka. Minecraft creator Markus Perrson) has heard your prayers.
The software engineer responsible for the indie sensation has already announced that a mobile version of Minecraft for both Android and iOS is in the works. But, per a Gamasutra article, it looks like the Android version of the game on the Xperia Play–Sony’s game-centric phone–will be the first handheld version to come to market.
(More on TIME.com: Finally: Minecraft Comes Out of Beta on 11/11/11)
While the title’s low graphical requirements make it easy to port to mobile in one aspect, you have to wonder how the devs and the service providers are going to handle all that data streaming from server to handheld and back again. Minecraft‘s a huge sprawling world with megatons of user-created content, but Mojang’s comments to Gamasutra indicate that the game will essentially be the same with some necessary tweaks, like controls optimized for a new interface.
(More on TIME.com: Have an Android? Sony Teasing PlayStation One Games Now)
Exclusive to Verizon, the Android-powered Xperia Play launches this week in the U.S., bringing with it the ability to play old-school PlayStation games. I’ve handled one a few times at various Sony events and can say that the build and hardware feel good. The preloaded games that will be on offer at launch aren’t exactly scintillating, though.
You’ll have access to everything that’s already on the Android Market but Minecraft might be the thing to get curious gamers to upgrade to the Xperia. Despite the fact that it’s still in beta, the game’s sold over a million copies with five million registered users. If even a fraction of those pick up an Xperia Play to feed their Minecraft habit, Sony could have a very strong smartphone launch on its hands.
It’s still unclear as to how long Android will have the exclusive on Minecraft or whether that exclusive also applies to Android tablets as well. Sony Ericsson’s holding a press event at E3, so it’s a safe bet that we’ll be hearing more about Minecraft and future plans for the Xperia Play there.