Minecraft Legends is an “action strategy” spin-off

After launching an action RPG on Minecraft in 2020 with Minecraft Dungeons, Mojang Studios today announced that the blocky builder is venturing into another new genre with an “action strategy game” named Minecraft Legends. Due for a 2023 launch, Mojang is doing this with Blackbird Interactive, the studio behind Homeworld 3 and Hardspace: Shipbreaker. Take a look in the trailer below.

The few actual game snippets there make me think of Dragon Quest Heroes? I’m a bit fuzzy on how this will all work, so I’ll refer you to Mojang’s blurb to formalize this fuzziness.

“Minecraft Legends is a unique action-strategy game,” the ad explains. “It has elements of strategy at its core, but its mechanics are inspired by the immersion of action games. You explore the familiar but in many ways new Overworld from a third-person perspective. You will defend peaceful settlements and fight hordes of piglins to stop the spread of their Nether corruption. You are at the center of every battle you fight, fighting alongside your allies while giving them instructions. We’ll tell you more about how you accomplish the monumental task of repelling the piglin invasion in the months to come.”

It will also support campaign co-op, as well as competitive multiplayer.

Minecraft Legends is set to launch in 2023 on Steam and the Microsoft Store. Absolutely, it will be on Game Pass. It is also expected to come to Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.

In our Minecraft Dungeons review, Nate rather liked the spin-off even though it had “all the aesthetic elements of Minecraft, but absolutely nothing in common with it beyond that.” Does Legends look like it has a building, at least?

Speaking of Homeworld 3, this long-awaited strategy sequel was recently delayed to 2023. But we’ll hear more about that at Gamescom in August.


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