Thankfully, it turns out that Microsoft may have had other plans all along. On the Minecraft Pocket Edition subreddit , a user submitted a changelog for version 1.0.3 beta, which includes "Windows Phone 10" support.

As listed on reddit, the beta includes the following fixes, including the infamous item duplication exploit that very naughty people on the Windows Central Community Realm used (and subsequently corrupted the entire server with).

New Features: Added Candy texture pack

Added Dutch localization

Added Windows Phone 10 support Tweaks: Fixed some spacing when truncating bold text

Tweaked spawn point selection to be "smarter" (e.g. avoid lava)

Tweaked the textures of flower/mushroom blocks

Assorted texture fixes Bug Fixes: Fixed a crash when a server/Realm would first start

Fixed an issue causing servers to blink between online and offline status

Fixed a Realms crash when a player exits

Fixed a crash when using some items

Fixed a server crash when a player entered a mutated biome

Fixed an issue that caused pressure plates, buttons, and other Redstone components to become stuck

Fixed an issue with hoppers not ticking the proper order

Fixed an issue when destroying a door

Fixed an issue with item duplication

Fixed an issue allowing a player to incorrectly obtain End Gateway blocks

Observer block's arrows should now point in the direction of power

Observer blocks will no longer be placed upside-down

Fixed an issue where realms members that were not your friends were not being displayed

Bats should spawn more often!

Fixed an issue with End Gateway textures on mobile devices

Fixed an issue where buttons & other redstone devices could get locked when a redstone lamp activated.

Fixed some rendering geometry which created weird results

As noted, it does appear Minecraft Pocket Edition for Windows Phone 8 will be stuck in limbo henceforth, never to receive the Ender update or beyond. It does however appear that Minecraft will live on with Windows 10 Mobile, bringing it up to parity with its Windows 10 PC counterpart. This beta version is 1.0.3, the version we have on the Windows 10 Store for PC is currently 1.0.2.

The official Pocket Edition FAQ states that neither Windows Phone 8 or "Windows Phone 10" will receive the Ender update, but these patch notes appear to contradict that. Microsoft hasn't formerly announced Minecraft PE for Windows 10 Mobile yet, but we shouldn't have to wait long for confirmation, either way.

Minecraft Windows 10 Edition is currently on special offer too, pick it up using the download link below!

Download Minecraft Windows 10 Edition from the Windows Store

Thanks wenti_man for the tip!