by theygamesWhen is the Minecraft Legends release date? This is a new action strategy game from Blackbird Interactive set within the world of Minecraft. Minecraft Legends sees the player take on the role of a legendary hero whose destiny is to unite the factions of the Overworld. If the Overworld doesn’t unite in time, they won’t be able to defend their homes against the Nether’s Piglin army.
Minecraft Legends was announced during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase in June 2022, so it’s still early days for the new project. With the Minecraft Legends release date now announced, we know when to expect the strategy game. Here’s everything we know about Minecraft Legends.
Minecraft Legends release date
The Minecraft Legends release date is April 18, 2023. It’ll launch on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. At the beginning of the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, Sarah Bond, head of Xbox creator experience, revealed every game shown would release across the next 12 months. Unless there are any unforeseen delays, we can infer that Minecraft Legends is likely to release by June 2023.
Minecraft Legends Xbox Game Pass
If you’re hoping to play Minecraft with Xbox Games Pass, the answer is yes. Minecraft Legends is coming to both Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on day one. Crossplay for multiplayer modes has also been confirmed.
Minecraft Legends trailer
Here is the Minecraft Legends announcement trailer from the showcase. While most of what’s shown is a cutscene, there is some gameplay footage towards the end that gives us an idea of how it plays.
Minecraft Legends gameplay
Minecraft Legends was also shown during Minecraft Live 2022, showcasing some PVP gameplay. From what we can tell, it’s likely to be quite different from your typical idea of an RTS game. About the gameplay, the official Mojang blog says that Minecraft Legends “has strategy game elements at its core, but its mechanics are inspired by the immersion of action games. You get to explore the familiar yet in-many-ways-new Overworld in a third-person perspective. You will defend peaceful settlements and fight hordes of Piglins to stop the spread of their Nether corruption. You are the centre of every battle you lead, fighting alongside your allies while giving them directions.”
In-direct control mechanics have appeared beforehand in RTS games, most notably in the Majesty series. We imagine the player has direct control over their avatar’s actions and movements, with ‘guided’ or ‘directed’ mechanics to tell NPC allies what to do. This will likely only apply to combat, based on what we’ve seen so far. Avatars can also get mounts, including a large purple tiger which is a new Minecraft mob.
Mojang states that the player will explore procedurally generated biomes to harvest resources and use them to build bases. The trailer shows the player planting a banner to get allies to move, but it also shows two Allays engaging in environment deconstruction, likely for harvesting resources and building.
Minecraft Legends multiplayer
You can play Minecraft Legends multiplayer in coop against the AI or against each other in PVP multiplayer. Resources are shared with teammates, with communication being vital to the game. The world in all modes is procedurally generated, so no two games or maps are exactly the same. Piglins will appear even in PVP multiplayer, so players will need to fend off both enemy players and invading Piglins. There don’t seem to be many restrictions to where you can build as you can craft forward camps outside bases to mount pressure on the enemy.
That’s everything we know about Minecraft Legends so far. While you wait for the new spinoff game, you can check out everything that’s coming to the OG Minecraft in the 1.20 update. We also have some other great co-op games worth checking out if you want something else to play with your friends.