Minecraft Dungeons 2 is making a big change. When its predecessor launched in 2020, it was a compelling side-quest for Mojang – a dungeon crawler which sought to deliver a more accessible entry point to the ARPG genre than the likes of Diablo and Path of Exile. It was a fun experience, although its limited points of exploration made it something of a divergence from what we've come to expect from Minecraft games. So Mojang is making some changes for the new game of 2026.

"In Minecraft Dungeons, we had a simple game loop," says Mans Olson, creative director. "You played a mission through to the end, you got a reward, and then you went back to your camp. In Minecraft Dungeons 2, we have what we call an interconnected world."

Internonnected, but not fully open. Olson stresses that Mojang "is purposefully not calling it an open world" as the studio is still creating a curated-style of game. "It's more of a guided experience that we think works really well for Minecraft," he says, adding: "But you will be free to explore the overworld; Minecraft Dungeons 2 is a lot larger than the first game."

Design director Laura de Llorens tells me that "you can walk from one end of the world to the other" in the upcoming Xbox Series X game, as the team emphasises the importance of exploration – unique and rare items, along with powerful Talismans, can be found by digging into every corner of the map. Speaking of maps, there's been some other changes to the Minecraft Dungeons 2 UI to accommodate the shift in focus. "Up in the right-hand corner we have a little mini-map, and we also have a very beautiful world map as well."

Given the 'All-Ages' framing of Minecraft Dungeons 2, are there any concerns over players getting lost in this interconnected world? Thankfully, a click of the left-thumbstick will enable a 'Guiding Light' (that can be activated by any member of your party, at any time) which will "always assist you in finding the next step in your quest," says de Llorens.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 may not be an open-world game, but it is inching ever closer to reflecting its ARPG ambitions into the original Minecraft style with this new interconnected world. The game is an exceptionally fun time, as you can learn more about in my Minecraft Dungeons 2 hands-on preview.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is out for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X on September 29, 2026.

I thought I needed a break from action-RPGs. I've been a massive fan of crawling dungeons, hoovering up loot, and clicking enemies into oblivion ever since I discovered Diablo as a kid – the terrifying cover art is still seared into my memory to this very day. But after sinking countless hours into Diablo 4 and its expansions, Path of Exile 2 and its (frankly ridiculous) skill tree, and plenty more indie hits besides, I was ready to give myself some time away from the genre.

And then Minecraft Dungeons 2 came along. Listen, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that the spin-off is as densely populated, visually rich, or challenge oriented as the mass of video games that have gone after the genre crown in the last five years, but there's something delightfully refreshing about Mojang's approach. It's every bit a relaxing introduction to dungeon crawlers, as it is for experienced players to share their love of ARPGs with a new generation of players.

Supporting up-to four player co-op, in both couch and online compositions, there's an ease in which Minecraft Dungeons 2 introduces its action. Familiar mobs from the vanilla Minecraft experience swarm as you beat and bash your way through the horde; loot pours from enemies as they explode off the screen, with dungeons carefully lit for maximum awe as Mojang pours more focus than ever before into making blocky spaces worth exploring.

Exploration is a key focus for Minecraft Dungeons 2, with the sequel earning itself an interconnected overworld that's full of collectibles and hidden talismans to uncover – a new type of item with unique capabilities, scaling once equipped in tandem with your levelling to produce more power and panache. Creative director Måns Olson tells me that Mojang is "purposefully not calling it an open world" although is quick to highlight a richer playspace with more room to dive into the depths of dungeons.

Speaking of dungeons, Mojang has answered your calls for more varied biomes. Minecraft Dungeons 2 will finally let you venture into the Deep Dark, complete with mobs that are unique to the playspace. One such enemy is the Twisted Warden, a towering boss that requires all four fighters to work together in tandem to take it down. I should note that this battle revealed one aspect that Mojang hasn't been able to solve between Minecraft Dungeons and its sequel: It's still exceptionally difficult to track your character in battle once the going gets a little chaotic.

That's also true while traversing the dungeons themselves, particularly as the studio has introduced the ability to jump this time around. In combat, this means you now get a unique jump attack which plays off of the weapon-type you have equipped (enhanced further by certain rarity buffs), although in exploration it means you'll get some light platforming sections with distances that are tough to judge.

Small frustrations with character-tracking and pathfinding aside, there's plenty of neat quality-of-life improvements. Armor is now split across head, chest, legs, and arms as Mojang tries to bring Minecraft Dungeons 2 a little closer to the core Minecraft experience, while the introduction of a mini-inventory system feels like a real game changer. You can now press 'up' on the D-Pad to adjust your weapons, swap in new weapons, and mess around with items actively in-game, rather than pulling everybody into the pause menu. It's a nice touch, one that makes Minecraft Dungeons 2 feel more responsive.

Into the Depths

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is a real breath of fresh air. ARPGs have embraced complexity in the modern era, which is delightful – if you have the time to tumble down wiki rabbit holes and assess every minute details of the hundreds of items which fill your inventory. MD2 feels like the sort of title which has a pick-up-and-play simplicity that's missing in the market, even as design director Laura de Llorens stresses that you can make life more complicated if you want to. "We don't have set classes, but you can combine different items to create your own and make your own playstyle. So you'll be able to do plenty of min-maxing here, if that's what you like to engage in."

With a contiguous, interconnected world that's full of dungeons to delve into, a more responsive and layered combat system, widened opportunities to customize your character, and a visual experience with truly vibrant fidelity, it should come as no surprise that I'm pretty keen to dive into the game proper on September 29, 2026 – that's when Minecraft Dungeons 2 releases for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X.

If there's any room for improvement, it's going to be in the way that Mojang identifies and tracks your character on screen, but with months to go until launch there's still time to refine its pathfinding systems. But if nothing else, it speaks volumes that I'm considering diving back into another ARPG right now after Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred decimated another 20 precious hours. Bring it on, Mojang.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is set to release on September 29, 2026. It's a key upcoming Xbox Series X game, although it's also set to launch for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2. You can learn more about the new Mojang game this week as part of the GamesRadar+ Summer Preview.

It looks like we may have had our first glimpse at an upcoming Minecraft mob thanks to none other than greeting card and ornaments company Hallmark, and I'm already in love with it based on its name alone.

Folks, say hello to Blub. Now, I don't know what Blub is, what it really looks like, or exactly how it's going to be added to the Minecraft universe, but what we do know is that Hallmark is going to be selling a holiday ornament of it for you to add to a Christmas tree near you later in the year. Nothing says Christmas like Blub, after all.

As highlighted on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit, a listing for the "Minecraft Blub Ornament" is visible right now on the Hallmark website. Hallmark says the product will be available on October 10, and that "fans of the popular video game will love to add this Christmas tree ornament to their collection as they explore and create in the newest version of the pixelated-style game."

Interestingly, there is a product image attached, but it's only a silhouette – it's odd that the information has been semi-redacted, but not enough to hide Blub from the world entirely. Personally, I can picture some sort of quadruped design with what looks like a pair of bunny ears and a suspiciously rounded nub on top (which is so uncharacteristically curved for a Minecraft design I wonder if it might actually be the hanger for the decoration), but I might be way off the mark there.

Blub... from r/MinecraftLeaks

There's been some speculation amongst fans wondering if Blub could actually tie into the upcoming Minecraft Dungeons 2 rather than Minecraft itself, with the follow-up dungeon-crawler set to launch sometime this fall. That'd certainly line up with the October release date for the Blub ornament, after all. However, others believe that Hallmark referring to the "newest version of the pixelated-style game" debunks this idea, and that Blub will arrive in some upcoming update to the massive sandbox, instead.

Honestly, I could see it going either way – hell, the description doesn't outright say that Blub is even from this so-called "newest version" in the first place. With that said, it's worth noting that Minecraft Dungeons does have a number of exclusive mobs not present in Mojang's main sandbox game, like the mole and hedgehog. Could Blub be destined for this life, too?

For now, we'll just have to wait and see what comes of this, if anything – who knows, it could even be a case of a placeholder listing for something else gone wrong, but I sincerely hope that's not the case. Fans have already been producing concepts of what Blub might look like, with my personal favorite being this blue bunny, but I can't help but think back to Pokemon Black and White's starter silhouette reveal and wonder if folks are filling in the blanks in a similar, completely wrong (albeit creative) way.

Smaller Minecraft updates like Tiny Takeover and Chaos Cubed "feel more sustainable" for Mojang, says lead: "There's always another one right around the corner".

As Mojang continues to focus on smaller updates for Minecraft, like its recent Tiny Takeover drop and the soon-to-come Chaos Cubed, the creators behind one of the sandbox game's most beloved mods reveal that they're now working on Hytale.

For anyone out of the loop, Hytale is a big Minecraft-inspired sandbox RPG that's been in the works for a good decade now, having just launched into early access in January. Its creators, Hypixel Studios, are the same folks behind Minecraft server network Hypixel – and it seems like even more community figures are set to join the team…

The developers behind Create, one of the best Minecraft mods out there, to be precise.

Create itself has been around for quite a few years now, serving as a handy mod containing various useful building tools and technology based on real-world kinetics – basically a steampunk lover's dream come true –and its devs attribute its success as the reason they've "been approached by the Hytale team to assist with game design" now.

They reveal as much in a new GitHub post, explaining that they've agreed to help with Hytale.

"For however long they'll have us, we'll be focused on creating new game mechanics with them," as they write. What does this mean for Create, though? "Create for Minecraft is not 'over' and is not being handed off," the devs say.

"The team is simply busier than usual, and isn't focusing on developing big new features. The Create team will still aim to help the community where we can." And, no, "Create is not being ported to Hytale."

As for what the Create modders are doing with Hypixel Studios, they state, "Our role there is to improve the core game first. There is still some foundational work to be done before something like animated mechanical systems could even be considered."

But, their message also reads, "I will do my best to convince them" – so, you know, don't rule out Create-esque content in Hytale just yet. It might happen… one day, anyway.

The message concludes with a statement aimed at fans supporting Create via donations: "Given that my current focus is on Hytale, you might want to reconsider supporting, as this may not be what you expected."

Honestly, I have a feeling the community will take this news quite well – or, at least, I certainly am. I love the idea of Minecraft icons teaming up to work on a new project, and also the thought of some of Create's unique flair seeping into Hytale.

Hypixel Studios lead Simon Collins-Laflamme has spoken out on the Create modders joining forces with his own team, too, writing in a post, "True. They're fully part of our core design team now, shaping the game at a foundational level. Getting that right is what eventually opens the door to automation and a whole lot more! The future of Hytale is looking really good. Just gotta let us cook for a bit."

So, yeah, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Plus, Collins-Laflamme even adds, "We got more surprises coming."

I'd say there's a good chance we'll see Create rub off on Hytale in the future – but even if it doesn't, I'm pleased to see the Minecraft masterminds working together. I'm not alone, either. As one fan's comment puts it, "That kitchen is full of next-level chefs."

"I've waited 15 years for this moment": Minecraft modders behind the sandbox game's most popular unofficial dimension unveil its sequel, flying mounts and all.

Although Mojang is now focusing on smaller updates for Minecraft, like the recent Tiny Takeover drop and soon-to-come Chaos Cubed, it's still made time for its annual April Fool's snapshot – and Herdcraft, as this year's prank patch is dubbed, is brilliant.

The Herdcraft "update," as Mojang outlines in its joke – but very real – patch notes online, takes your inventory… and, well, deletes it. Sort of, anyway. "The inventory is gone, and it's gone for good," as the developer writes. "Now, the world is your inventory."

What does that mean, though? Your inventory items will be, uh, literally everywhere instead of just trapped within a menu. You'll need to place a lead on them, much like you would a wolf.

And that's because every item essentially becomes a pseudo-summon or pet – and, yes, you can command your inventory, too. Mojang reveals as much in its new Herdcraft trailer on YouTube, which shows the April Fool's snapshot in action.

Want to gather? Get your blocks to do it for you, or with you. Trying to take on the Ender Dragon? Use your newly sentient ingots instead, and sit back while they slay the final Minecraft boss.

As Mojang concludes in its trailer, "Let the herding begin!"Unsurprisingly, players (hi, it's me, I'm players) are obsessed already, with a recent Reddit thread on Herdcraft highlighting fans' thoughts on the hilarious "update."

One person echoes my own read of the snapshot, that Mojang "finally added a summoner class" to Minecraft – even if it's via an April Fool's patch. Another adds, "This could be the framework for pet update," and I certainly hope so.

I see some other responses regarding the potential of "movable chests" in the future, and this April Fool's snapshot being a sort of framework for that – and I'd love that. That, plus the ability to command pets (like wolves) the way we do inventory items in Herdcraft.

With how the community has been split on Mojang's move to smaller updates, a patch in that realm, I think, could act as a nice middle ground with some real game-changing tweaks.

Only time will tell, though, I suppose… but, sadly, past April Fool's additions, like the 2024 potato dimension, haven't exactly lived on outside of their respective snapshots. That's not to say proper summoning won't ever happen, however, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Smaller Minecraft updates like Tiny Takeover and Chaos Cubed "feel more sustainable" for Mojang, says lead: "There's always another one right around the corner."

With Mojang now focusing on smaller new updates for Minecraft, like the more recent Tiny Takeover drop and soon-to-come Chaos Cubed, the community is split on how it feels about the littler patches– but developers say that doesn't mean bigger ones won't ever release.

Minecraft product manager Anna Lundgren explains as much in a reassuring new interview with PCGamesN, first stating that the swap from big annual updates to smaller, more frequent drops "does feel more sustainable" for Mojang.

"We can have a game drop like Tiny Takeover, which is focused mainly on the art and sound design for a series of mobs, and the more technical teams at the studio can be focused on something entirely different."

Lundgren says the smaller game drop strategy also "allows us to focus on different aspects of the game in the same year," revealing, "We do have some exciting things coming up."

I'm all ears, personally – and I do suppose another positive here is the fact that Mojang can hit all sorts of different parts of Minecraft with updates, now that they're not as huge an undertaking and devs can focus on separate areas of the game while working.

"For example," as Lundgren says, "while Tiny Takeover is largely focused on making the game cuter by refreshing the visuals of baby mobs, the Mounts of Mayhem game drop last December focused on mounted combat, and the Copper Age drop before that was more about tinkerers and builders. With multiple game drops coming out every year, we can cater to a wide variety of play styles."

It's a good way to please more flavors of players. "If one drop isn't your style," after all, "there's always another one right around the corner" – whether it's new Minecraft mobs you're hoping for or otherwise.

That isn't to say that more substantial updates won't ever happen, though – it's been a hot topic in the community, and Mojang knows many fans still want big patches. Just because the team is swapping over to littler game drops doesn't mean we won't ever see ones reminiscent of the old 1.[insertnumberhere] days… or so it seems, anyway.

"I don't want to make any promises about future releases," as Lundgren concludes, "but I will say that we're allowing ourselves the flexibility of releasing game drops of different sizes and scopes, as well as working on more transformative updates at the same time, such as the Vibrant Visuals graphics refresh that we launched last year."

I'll try not to hold my breath, but that does sound pretty promising. For now, at least, we've got Chaos Cubed to anticipate.

Mojang hired a "cow whisperer" and "real animal voice actors" to record new Minecraft animal noises: "The cows started to speak to him immediately."

Minecraft's adorable Tiny Takeover update and its mob overhaul includes all sorts of adorable new animal sounds, and Mojang really crossed its meows and dotted its oinks to make sure everything sounded as authentic as possible.

Talking to PCGN, Minecraft senior product manager Anna Lundgren revealed that Mojang hired "real animal voice actors" to add some authentic new variety to its baby and adult mob sounds. Tiny Takeover's baby mob overhaul is the highlight, with Lundgren explaining that new sounds were recorded "for kittens, wolf puppies, foals, piglets, and baby chickens," but adult animals also got new sound variants.

Audio designer Sandra Karlsson explained during last weekend's Minecraft Live 2026 (via PCGN) what it was like being in the studio with actual, full-sized cows and someone whose job it is to communicate with them

"Sometimes there are a lot of animals, and sometimes the animals are really big," Karlsson said, adding that a "cow whisperer" was hired to elicit genuine cow noises from the herd. "He started to make some kind of 'Maaah' sound, and the cows started to speak to him immediately."

It's hard to be upset about new animal noises, especially those voiced by real animals, but generally the Minecraft community has been divided about update 26.1. An ongoing discussion on Reddit has players on one side arguing that the new update is "a low effort marketplace add-on" adding "zero value to the survival experience or the game's progression," while people on the other side say "Mojang can never win.

"They go for big updates that take ages, people complain; they go for smaller updates that come out more frequently, but people complain."

Minecraft devs say anything is possible in the sandbox game's future as they start to dip into old ideas for new updates: "You always have more ideas than you can realize"

The Minecraft community has seen a bit of a divide over the past week or so, as the arrival of update 26.1 hasn't exactly impressed everyone – nor has Mojang's recent sneak peek at future content.

That might be a bit of an understatement, too. In case you're unaware, update 26.1 – dubbed the Tiny Takeover drop – arrived earlier this week with new baby and adult sound variants for animals like the cat and wolf (and more), baby mobs, the Golden Dandelion – a flower that stops mobs from aging, and more.

That's not all, though. Mojang also lifted the curtain on an update that's yet to come: Chaos Cubed. Folks are split on it, though.

As one person writes on Reddit, "Honestly, the new update feels like a low-effort marketplace add-on." According to the player, "It adds zero value to the survival experience or the game's progression. While I understand that much of Minecraft's identity is built on creativity, it is still a 'Survival' game, not just a sandbox, and I think Mojang has lost sight of that. I appreciate new biomes and blocks, but they need to have meaning."

minecraft from r/Minecraft/comments/1s02oxr/honestly_the_new_update_feels_like_a_loweffort

Commenters can't really agree on Chaos Cubed, however. "To my understanding, Mojang is doing a lot of back-end updates at the moment, and so content additions will be smaller," reads one reply. "Honestly, glad of it." Another argues, "Nothing looks bad to me, but there isn't much for single player besides the building sets."

Others are on some serious copium (as am I, honestly), keeping their fingers crossed for an update to the End later down the line.

Another thread on Chaos Cubed adds some "constructive criticism" to the mix. They say the new Sulfur Cube, set to drop alongside the update, "is fine as a multiplayer mob" but has little value in single-player.

"Even just a drop for the cube will make it a bit more interesting for single-player," they write. As for Sulfur itself, they wish it weren't "just a decoration block" and propose an item like "Sulfur Powder."

The problems with Chaos Cubed from r/Minecraft

A separate post, on the other hand, sees a fan empathize with Mojang. "It's honestly pretty sad how Mojang can never win. They go for big updates that take ages, people complain; they go for smaller updates that come out more frequently, but people complain."

I do get where they're coming from – it's tough to please a community as big as Minecraft's, and that's more than evident with big reveals like that of Chaos Cubed.

Here's hoping we all somehow get a little bit of somethin' we'd like to see in Minecraft… I'm happy with the baby mobs for now, but I do hope Mojang is cooking up an update to the End secretly, you know, for some time after Chaos Cubed.

Minecraft devs say anything is possible in the sandbox game's future as they start to dip into old ideas for new updates: "You always have more ideas than you can realize"

Minecraft will soon follow up its precious, new Tiny Takeover update with the underground overhaul Chaos Cubed, but developer Mojang wants players to know its tight timeline doesn't mean its sandbox game's future is set. Actually, anything is possible for Minecraft.

Talking to Gamespot, product manager Anna Lundgren says, "Nothing is ever off the table when it comes to what's possible in the future." In fact, Mojang has been actively revisiting abandoned ideas to see if they could work in modern Minecraft.

"You always have more ideas than you can realize at one point in time," says Lundgren, "But I also love how that doesn't necessarily mean that things won't happen." She gives an example with the handmade copper golem first introduced as a possible mob candidate in the 2021 Minecraft Live 2021 mob vote poll – which it lost.

But "after a lot of years of thinking out in the public," Lundgren says, "the Copper Golem from the mob vote [in 2021] finally made its way in" as part of The Copper Age game drop this past September. Plus, "we had the firefly bushes coming in as a second interpretation of the fireflies we had been thinking about for 2022," which were announced in 2021, but were soon removed.

Developers had found out fireflies were poisonous to real frogs, but not their Minecraft frogs, which I suppose broke their immersion more than the existence of lava blocks and zombies. In any case, Mojang introduced its more eco-friendly firefly bushes in 2025.

"It's really nice when you have those ideas that, for some reason – time or other challenges – [don't] make sense at the time," Lundgren says. But then they come back around.

Familiarize yourself with all Minecraft mobs before they do.

Mojang admits the Caves and Cliffs update's new world generation tech was so much of a monumental task, the studio swore off yearly updates.

Speaking at a GDC 2026 Minecraft panel (attended by and reported on by PC Gamer), general manager Ryan Cooper describes Mojang's approach to player feedback when deciding on new updates. And with the Caves and Cliffs update, Cooper explains, "We were getting so much feedback from our community that we just decided to take on additional work."

Caves and Cliffs ended up releasing throughout 2021, but it was so big, it had to be released in two different content drops – with the first half releasing in June 2021, and the second releasing on the last day of November that same year.

However, in the process of making massive changes to the way worlds are generated, Mojang discovered it needed to update its own technology, too, which resulted in the developers working on a massive Minecraft update alongside upgrading its development tech. Cooper says the team described it as "akin to trying to build a skyscraper with hand tools." And after going through that with Caves and Cliffs, Mojang decided it didn't want to make the same mistake going forward.

"What happened as a result of Caves & Cliffs was we decided that we wanted to move to a more rapid cadence of updates," Cooper says. And a few years later, in 2024, Mojang confirmed it would be ditching its yearly update formula in favor of smaller updates arriving far more frequently, which has so far resulted in four updates per year in 2024 and 2025.

15 years later, infamous Minecraft anarchy servers strengthen chat moderation at the reported request of Mojang itself.

Former Xbox and Sega boss Peter Moore says that he believes Microsoft hasn't taken advantage of owning Minecraft as it should.

Speaking to GamesBeat, Moore says, "When they acquired Mojang and Minecraft, it was purposely built, almost, for – how do we use AI to continuously evolve this?" He says this is mostly down to Minecraft's potential for user-generated content in the vein of something like Fortnite.

He explains, "UGC has always been an important part of keeping people engaged. Roblox is obviously a great example. You put creativity in the hands of the gamer, rather than telling the gamer what they’re going to do."

Moore admits, "Microsoft has maybe not taken full advantage of Minecraft." As for why that is, the former Xbox boss reckons that "maybe a bit of that is on the heels of Activision Blizzard and Bethesda. All of a sudden there were shinier objects that came along, with much bigger price tags attached."

He continues, "These are the moments, when Microsoft jumps in like that – where does Xbox fit all of a sudden? Where does the old business model fit?" And when it comes to the various high-profile acquisitions made by the company over the years, Moore adds, "You’re no longer a first party. I don’t think, once you start making the acquisitions that they did, because you can’t spend that kind of money and keep everything as an exclusive on your console. The math doesn’t math."

Minecraft does have an in-game store that allows fans to eventually join a partner program and release content into the Minecraft Marketplace, but it's not quite a platform in the same way Roblox or Fortnite are. But then again, Minecraft is literally the best-selling game of all-time, so I'm not entirely sure Microsoft are regretting owning the game too much right now.

Minecraft modders behind the sandbox game's most popular unofficial dimension unveil its sequel, flying mounts and all

The legacy of Minecraft has proven infinite as Mojang continues to breathe fresh life into the beloved 2009 sandbox game time and time again with new updates – but it's not just the devs keeping the iconic gem alive.

It's also its dedicated community, boasting countless talented modders, resource pack makers, shader creators, and you name it. The Aether Team is certainly no exception, standing strong behind one of the best Minecraft mods to date – The Aether.

If you're not familiar with The Aether, it adds an entirely new dimension to the game (you guessed it, The Aether) that acts as a sort of opposing force to the canonical Nether. The original Aether mod first launched in 2011, just two years after Minecraft released into the wild, so it's been quite a long while. Now, however, we finally have something new to look forward to from The Aether Team – an Aether 2.0.

Yes, really. The modders blew my mind while I was casually scrolling through YouTube at midnight or so last night with a surprise trailer for The Aether 2's alpha release, and it looks incredible.

Already live to download on CurseForge, The Aether 2 boasts "beautiful landscapes, high winds, vast oceans of cloud, and deep, mysterious caves," as its creators describe.

That's not all, though – much like the Nether, this dimension has its own native materials to gather, like Gravitite. This means more equipment (some with "supernatural abilities," excitingly), and all sorts of fresh builds to ponder crafting up.

There are new fantasy animals – and, yes, flying mounts – and unique dungeons to boot. It's huge, and unsurprisingly, Minecraft stans can't contain their excitement. Under the trailer lies a plethora of comments that prove as much, with one person declaring, "I've waited 15 years for this moment."

Another chimes in, "Got goosebumps looking at the title on my home page, I needed this right about now." Me too, random user. Me too.

Elsewhere in the replies, someone writes, "Might cry dude, this is amazing, thank you guys," later following up with an amusing edit: "I did cry." It's safe to say The Aether 2 won't see any shortage of downloads, methinks.

15 years later, infamous Minecraft anarchy servers strengthen chat moderation at the reported request of Mojang itself.

Hi, Minecraft devs? Big fan! I just want to ask, how dare you? It's January, motivation is low, and now at any given time I could be hanging out with a plethora of cute animals in your blocky wonderland rather than dealing with reality. It's a disgrace. A fluffy, adorable disgrace.

My existential crises aside, Minecraft’s latest update is focused on making various critters even more precious. Eight farm animals now have proper infant counterparts available in testing. "But they already did?" I hear you asking. Correct, but those models were just the adult ones shrank down. Now we have actual newborn rabbits, wolf pups, kittens, and beyond.

"Typically mobs in Minecraft have two-pixel eyes, but now baby mobs have just one which creates a new vibe for them, which is just adorable," game director Agnes Larsson says in an official rundown. You're right, Larsson; you're so, so right.

In addition to the aforementioned interactive squishmallows, Mojang is giving us calves, piglets, chickens, ocelots, and lambs. Each has gotten a particular re-design to maximize cuteness and create a sense of growth between baby and adult forms. This include distinct sounds. The lamb apparently inspired some internal discussion.

"Initially I had a fluffy one with a big wool coat, but it didn't make sense gameplay wise," Sarah Boeving, game artist on Minecraft, says. "Mainly because it looked like it could be sheared like the adults (it can't) but also that they didn't really reflect real-life lambs very well. It was a tough choice but I'm really happy with the final baby sheep."

I'm really happy with them too. And the fact the chicks are just yellow cubes. You can give them individual names, as well. It's the rabbits, though, that have already stolen my heart. "I really hope players get to experience the new rabbit (both adult and baby!) hopping around," Boeving explains.

"I'm especially fond of the 'toast' variant and the history behind it," she continues. "It was added in a while back to memorialize a player's pet which had gone missing. There's something really sweet about being able to immortalize the memory of dear ones in games."

You can check these out now using the snapshot functionality and Bedrock beta/preview on Minecraft. You're welcome.

Microsoft's seemingly first IP crossover with Activision Blizzard is giving a Minecraft spinoff to the Candy Crush dev.

Since Minecraft first burrowed its blocky way into players' brains back in 2009, survival games have gone on to become one of the biggest genres in the medium. The idea of building a shelter and hiding in it from hostile elements and creatures has been adapted into every imaginable scenario, from the depths of the ocean in Subnautica to the farthest reaches of space in No Man's Sky.

The influence of the best survival games can be seen across the industry. Big-budget action-adventure titles such as Tomb Raider and God Of War have adopted elements of survival games – not least the crafting system – while you can trace a direct line from the open-ended zombie survivalism of DayZ to the battle-royale supremacy of Fortnite. Survival games have even changed how videogames, regardless of genre, are made, pioneering the early-access model of development used to create outstanding recent titles such as Hades 2 and Baldur's Gate 3.

Given survival games' ubiquity and influence, then, it might seem absurd to ask whether the genre itself might be dying. Yet as it has grown in popularity, it has also changed dramatically, resulting in a significant shift in both the appearance of games and what's prioritised in them. Consequently, it's possible that survival games are not only dying, but they've reached the brink of extinction without anyone actually noticing.

Dying art

To examine this notion, it's important to specify what exactly survival games are, and the forces behind their appeal and popularity.

Typically, survival games deposit you in a wilderness such as a forest, then challenge you to not die for an unspecified amount of time. At the most basic level, this involves managing various bodily needs such as hunger and thirst (usually represented by gradually decaying meters) by foraging for sources of food and water. Most survival games also allow you to improve your fortunes by crafting tools such as axes, spears and fishing rods, and constructing a shelter where you can store your equipment and hide from wandering creatures and environmental hazards.

The specifics vary between games, but all survival games share the same fundamental draw. Anthony Gallegos, design director on Subnautica 2, perhaps sums it up best with an anecdote.

"I used to work at this one Marvel studio, and we had some coworkers that would occasionally bring their kids to work," he tells us. He recalls seeing one of these children playing Astroneer, a game about constructing bases and outposts on colourful alien worlds. "I was watching this little kid play, and I was like, 'Oh, geez, good luck, kid, that game has no onboarding'. I came back two hours later, and he had made a base that was leaps and bounds above anything I could have fathomed for myself. I was like, 'OK, either this kid's a genius, or survival-game mechanics are just simple enough that they're universally approachable'."

Gallegos believes that the popularity of survival games derives from how they tap into some of our most primal urges. "We're all little monkeys. Everyone's little monkey brains like shelter and food," he says. In other words, just as children build dens in forests and blanket forts in their bedrooms, survival games enable us to simulate the satisfaction of pitting ourselves against the imagined elements.

But this isn't the only reason survival games are so popular. Gallegos has observed that players who discover their appeal also develop an insatiable appetite for them.

"There are a lot of genres where players are very monogamistic. A lot of players are like, 'I only play this shooter'," he says. "MMOs, same way. When all the MMOs were trying to copy World Of Warcraft, people were like 'I'll go play the first free month of it, and then I'm coming back to WOW'."

Whole new worlds

Survival games, Gallegos believes, are different, as in most cases the vast majority of players don't make a long-term commitment to a single experience.

"If I see people play through all the content of Subnautica and then they leave for a little bit until we do a content patch, that doesn't alarm me, because I know what they're doing," he explains. "They just move from one to [another] with their friends, or by themselves. But they play them all."

When this behaviour started is unclear. What's fascinating, though, is that the original Subnautica is both the product of players' ravenous appetite for survival games and one of the chief architects of the genre's proliferation.

Although it came to be one of the most acclaimed survival games, Unknown Worlds' aquatic adventure was not originally conceived as one. "It was an exploration game first, and then they added survival elements," Gallegos explains. "Charlie [Cleveland], the original creator, if you asked him about it, I think he would tell you that he listened to the community to figure out what they wanted."

Yet in reworking Subnautica into a survival game based on community demand, Cleveland established a template for a new kind of survival game, one that took the genre from its (relatively) grounded origins into the realms of infinite fantasy.

Early progenitors such as Minecraft, The Forest, DayZ and Project Zomboid may all have featured fantastical elements such as zombies and monsters, but their environments all looked like the real world and (more or less) functioned according to real-world logic.

If you needed to craft something out of wood, for example, you went and chopped down a tree. If you needed to cook, you built a campfire or a furnace.

In contrast, Subnautica transposed the fundamentals of survival to an alien ocean world with a unique ecosystem, one in which the lessons learned in those early survival games no longer worked. Instead, players had to master a new set of rules to thrive in the game's planetwide ocean. They would learn how to manage their oxygen, which oceanic creatures were edible, and how to craft items in a world without wood.

In this way, Subnautica demonstrated how a radical change of setting could revitalise survival gaming's underlying ruleset. It's an idea survival games have been riffing on ever since, using setting and theme to recontextualise the underlying mechanics.

Examples that have adopted Subnautica's template include the spacefaring survival sim Breathedge, post-apocalyptic airship game Forever Skies and Obsidian Entertainment's Grounded, which combines survival gaming with a theme inspired by the film Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.

The A Factor

One particularly vivid example from recent years is Abiotic Factor, a cooperative survival game that casts you as a scientist attempting to sustain yourself within a Black Mesa-inspired research facility.

Abiotic Factor's design director, Geoff Keene, had attempted to break into the survival genre during its early years with the ill-fated zombie survival game The Dead Linger. "It was a survival game back when we were like, 'The zombie genre has died – we're bringing it back to life'," he says.

But Keene's inexperience led to a troubled development, while The Dead Linger also struggled to stand out amid a slew of zombie-themed games. "I was young. We didn't know how to make games back then." Keene went on to develop the social deduction game Unfortunate Spacemen before spending some time at DayZ creator Dean Hall's studio, RocketWerkz. But he was still determined to build a survival game of his own, eventually cofounding Deep Field Games with several friends to create Abiotic Factor.

A core inspiration here was the opening tram ride in Half-Life and its second expansion, Blue Shift, occurring before Gordon Freeman triggers the resonance cascade that dooms the facility. "I just love that little slice of life," Keene says. "Who lives there? Who's doing the stuff there?" He imagined a scenario in which you had to survive for a longer period in Black Mesa, living off food pulled from vending machines and building equipment out of the furniture. "That was the original idea. I want trams, and I want vending machines, and I want lab coats."

Though Abiotic Factor is a survival game, only its base mechanics derive from genre norms, with everything else designed to fit its theme. Its setting, the GATE research facility, is structured to reflect Black Mesa's warren of corridors, with excursions into Xen-style portal worlds where you can discover strange new resources.

The crafting system, meanwhile, is designed to make you feel like you're inventing the items you create, reflecting your in-game role as a brainy boffin. "Our marketing producer, she came up with an idea for a minigame that was sort of based on Wordle," Keene says. "We made this little prototype of moving the items into the slot to make the item. You're given six or eight items or something, and you have to guess which ones are used in the recipe."

Abiotic Factor's scientific survivalism shows how Subnautica opened the floodgates to what's possible in the survival space. But as such there's one big difference between the wider effects they had, in using unusual themes to their advantage.

Subnautica's underwater world made it a pioneer, whereas Abiotic Factor's approach is now the baseline a survival game must meet to stand out.

Indeed, according to Keene, the perception of survival games as a robust, enduringly popular genre is built on the skeletons of countless examples that are released into immediate obscurity. "Most survival games go nowhere, right?" he says. "They release and get 100 reviews on Steam, if they're lucky, and then they just fall off the map."

Because of this, one of the key thrusts of Abiotic Factor's development was to steer clear of ideas or motifs that made it resemble a traditional survival game. "I basically avoided anything that makes survival games a real grind – looking at the ground, picking up sticks," he says. "I think a lot of them fall into that trap where they're like, 'Well, we've got the wood chopping, we've got the picking up sticks and stones, we've got the crafting…' You've got to do something different with it."

Gallegos agrees that developers of survival games can no longer rely on the basic tree chopping and campfire building that popularized the genre.

"At the very least, you need a strong theme," he says. But he also points out that the priorities of survival games have shifted more broadly. For example, modern survival games either heavily support or outright mandate cooperative multiperson play. Abiotic Factor already includes this while Unknown Worlds is bringing co-op play to Subnautica 2.

"We have certain mechanics where, if I hit my air [bladder] in singleplayer, it gives me oxygen. If I hit it when I'm standing next to you, it gives us both oxygen," Gallegos says. In addition, he states that modern survival games are increasingly averse to challenging or punishing players, with death and setbacks treated as an inconvenience to enjoyment. "Survival games often make you want to do anything but lose. You're like, 'I will hoard everything for food. I don't ever want to die. I don't ever want to lose. I will save scum'."

And this brings us to why, despite appearances, survival games may be an endangered species. In the effort to diversify, developers might just have forgotten what they're supposed to be about.

Drive to survive

This is the view of Seth Rosen, a freelance game design consultant and director who has overseen the development of numerous survival games, including Don't Starve Together (the multiplayer expansion to Klei Entertainment's 2013 hit) and last year's Pacific Drive.

"The vast majority of games we call survival games, I think, could more accurately be described as co-op base-building RPGs," he says. "The fact that it's sort of dressed up as survival and you have a hunger meter is just tacking onto what's hot in the market."

Rosen qualifies his position by pointing out that he personally doesn't like the survival genre, despite having designed two games that would conventionally fall into the category. "For me, survival games tend to be two things. One is a mystery box in terms of there's all this stuff and you've got to figure out how it works in the world, so you are poking things with sticks and seeing what they do," he explains. "And it's also a collect-a-thon. It's a crafting and resource-gathering experience, and that's most of what we're doing moment to moment. And I just find it ultimately pretty tedious."

Within this nebula of crafting and base-building RPGs, Rosen says there are "vanishingly few" true survival experiences. "When I think of survival, the word, and movies that are about survival, it's about a character finding themselves against great odds, often in some difficult climate or terrain or strange world that they don't understand, and they have limited resources."

Examples of 'true' survival games by that definition include Creepy Jar's jungle-based Green Hell and Hinterland Studio's uncompromising arctic excursion The Long Dark. In both games, staying alive is nearly always your primary concern, and the environmental hazards you face, such as extreme cold or wild predators, are a constant threat to your continued existence.

But the trajectory of the modern survival genre, in which modes of play such as exploration, creativity and cooperation have been increasingly emphasised, has deliberately reduced much of this friction. "Especially in the multiplayer variants of these things," Rosen points out, "if you die, the penalty is you have to walk back to your backpack. That's not survival at that point – that's adventuring."

As Gallegos observes, many modern survival games perceive the fundamental challenge and busywork of survival as an inconvenience, and there are far more egregious examples of this than the likes of Subnautica and Abiotic Factor, both of which require you to take risks and plan expeditions to improve your situation.

Games such as Redbeet Interactive's Raft enable you to take your entire base with you on adventures, so stepping out for food or other resources demands little forethought.

For Rosen, then, there are many games outside the survival genre that better embrace the ideas it is notionally about, including survival-horror examples. "I think back to Resident Evil 1 and 2, and how hilariously sparse ammunition was. That feels a lot more like survival to me." He also points to 2019's Outer Wilds, and how it challenged players to figure out how its solar system worked in order to escape its time-loop apocalypse that occurred every 22 minutes.

"Outer Wilds is more of a survival game than a lot of what we call survival games," he says. "For a lot of people, it's really satisfying and gratifying to make progress in the tech tree, and improve your walls from wood to stone or whatever. But that's not survival at that point. That's frontiering."

It's worth noting that Rosen's view of how we wrongly categorize survival games extends to his own work. Rosen doesn't consider Pacific Drive to be a true survival game either.

"I think of it much more as a car-maintenance adventure than a survival game," he says. "A lot of our challenges were about figuring out how to put the player into duress mode when they're behind the wheel of a car, which has to protect you to a degree, but also you need to care about the state of your car and maintain it."

That said, Pacific Drive does incorporate many of Rosen's design ideas about how to engender survivalist instincts in a virtual space.

Pacific Drive is all about managing your fuel, your tyres, the overall integrity of your car, and doing so in an environment where there are hazards that can and will harm you. It's a game that is willing to get in your way, and interrupt what you want to do with more urgent tasks that you need to do.

"If you boil it down, the vast majority of what's going on in Pacific Drive is time management or attentional management," Rosen says. "The emotion that is elicited by having to do time management when there are stakes is that fight-or-flight, 'dynamic problem solving under duress' feeling that you get from actual survival."

Getting back on track

Refocusing survival games on actual survival will not be easy. For starters, it doesn't appear to be what the majority of players want.

But in addition to this, making a true survival game that's also enjoyable is very difficult. In their traditional formulation, survival games are built upon a very simple set of systems, namely one or several timers that tick down until they kill the you unless you're able to restore them by some means. Every other system commonly associated with survival games – crafting, base building – is supplementary.

This is what makes survival games so adaptable. You can add these systems into virtually any other type of game, just as Cleveland did with the original Subnautica. But the passive nature of these mechanics also means that making a game specifically about survival is tough, hence why they so often exist beneath other, more interactively immediate mechanics such as crafting and building, and why those mechanics have become more prioritised over time.

With that in mind, what does the future hold for survival games? Rosen believes that bringing survival back to the fore requires better delineation between survival games and crafting/base-building RPGs, though he acknowledges there are obstacles.

"I've been working on a talk about all of this, and one of the things I keep trying to fit into it is this new taxonomy for how to talk about these kinds of games," he says. "But it's so multivalent, and it so often multiplies even within a single title, that I found it really hard to nail down the thing, which I think is why we get this umbrella term of 'survival games'."

Keene, however, thinks the opposite, that survival games will only thrive if they continue to mix with other genres. "I would say there needs to be more hybridization," he says. "I think it's detrimental to survival games to keep trying to copy other survival games. They really need to step out and do more things with it."

Gallegos, meanwhile, falls somewhere between the two. He predicts survival games will become even more focused upon multiplayer, likely taking inspiration from viral hits in the cooperative horror space. "Survival games will increasingly lean into more social mechanics over time," he says, "learning the lessons from major successes like REPO and Content Warning, and looking at the ways people play together."

This is something Unknown Worlds plans to pursue with Subnautica 2. "In the original version of the prototype, I could stand in the doorway to the big sub and block it and just watch you drown. I would do stuff like that all the time, where they'd be like, 'Let me in', and I'd be like, 'What's the password?'" he says.

"We got rid of that for now, but I think we'll be finding ways to bring stuff like that in, ways you can lightly mess with each other, like if we added a mechanic where, when you're swimming to the surface, you could grab someone's ankle and use it to pull yourself past them."

Scrapping for parts

But Gallegos doesn't believe this means survival games will necessarily stray further from their origins. Instead, the right kind of hybridization could reinstate the tension of survival to the genre.

He points to the recently released co-op indie Peak as an example. "It's a climbing game, but you only have a stamina bar," he says. "If you take health damage, it impacts your stamina bar. If you're hungry, it slowly impacts your stamina bar even more. So you eat to get it back to where it was. You heal yourself to get your stamina back. That's a brilliant way to tie all these survival systems into [one] thing the player cares about."

Gallegos also points out that Unknown Worlds plans to elaborate upon the basic survival systems Subnautica 2 will initially launch with. Appropriately, one of the sequel's central themes is adaptation, with players altering their characters at a genetic level to better thrive in its underwater world. Some upgrades will give players access to new areas of the world, while others, planned for the future, will enable them to customise their characters in more specific ways.

But, coming full circle, the extent of these adaptations will depend on how Subnautica 2's community responds to them. "We're definitely going to push our systems over time, but I think we're going to push them more in the terms of [how] hunger will play into this progression system, [or] thirst will play into that progression system. But reinventing those entirely? I'm not sure," Gallegos says.

"We'll have to see. If the fans, in our case, really want us to push it, we will." Survival, after all, is a matter of understanding the environment you exist in. And sometimes the best way to do that, ironically, is to evolve into a different kind of beast.

Check out all the new games of 2026 to look forward to in the next 12 months, from Resident Evil Requiem to GTA 6

Continuity and iteration is something we're familiar with in gaming. Sequels often dominate the release schedule, which is certainly a trend for the best video game movies of the year, where the majority are the second season of a previous hit adaptation. But unlike 2024, this collection of the best game adaptations of 2025 – which also consists of just live-action – has also had some notable theatrical releases, even if they might not be exactly what you're expecting.

But then that's also the definition of an adaptation. It's not about slavishly imitating the aesthetic, setting or story of what you've played but also translating it to another medium in creative ways, even if some of those choices can be divisive. Still, from family entertainment to horror to the post-apocalypse that can be a source for hard-hitting drama as well as absurd comedy, and this year's gaming adaptations certainly aren't lacking in variety. 2026's slew of upcoming video game movies already has some large boots to fill, but let's stay focused on the finest game adaptations of the past 12 months.

5. Until Dawn

Distributor: Screen Gems / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Unless Bandersnatch-style audience interaction could be implemented in theaters, adapting Supermassive's choice-based cinematic horror sleeper hit to the big screen was always going to be tricky without it just being reduced to another teen slasher.

Until Dawn then takes the gamble of a new gimmick where a group of unlucky teens find themselves getting picked off by a masked assailant only to find themselves trapped in a time loop where the night begins again with a new threat. It may not be the smartest meta-commentary of horror when compared to Scream or Cabin in the Woods, but its likable cast (which includes Peter Stormare reprising his role as the psychologist from the game) and humor ensures this is still a bloody entertaining time.

4. Twisted Metal Season 2

Distributor/Streaming service: Peacock

With all the prestigious PlayStation adaptations, one based on a vehicular combat game that hasn't had an entry since the PS3 was probably not on anyone's bingo cards, but its first season in 2023 proved that the post-apocalypse can be blood-soaked campy fun that fleshes out its source material in surprising ways. It also turned out to be merely the build-up to the actual Twisted Metal tournament itself that's the focus of Season 2.

While a no-holds-barred demolition derby with wildly unhinged characters like a game-accurate Raven and clown-masked Sweet Tooth, Anthony Mackie's fast-talking amnesiac 'milkman' John Doe stays a rootable and grounded center among the action-packed carnage of the Fury Road-style death races. It may not win awards or critical acclaim, but it's definitely Twisted Metal, and that's what counts most.

3. A Minecraft Movie

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Turning Mojang's all-time bestselling game with its signature blocky aesthetic into a live-action movie seemed like a recipe for disaster. Yet far from a cynical cash-in, Jared Hess, director of cult indies like Napoleon Dynamite, and Jack Black, no stranger to gaming adaptations, imbue A Minecraft Movie with more genuine personality than your run-of-the-mill CGI-driven fantasy adventure. It may spend too much screentime setting things up in the real world and its female cast is underdeveloped, but once in the Overworld it's as playfully irreverent as the game that still somehow manages to appeal to young fans and to a wider audience who don't know their Creeper from their Piglin. That the film led to viral rowdy audience outbursts that Warner Bros. then decided to officially sanction with 'meme-a-long' Block Party screenings means you could even call it a modern-day Rocky Horror Picture Show, if it has any staying power.

2. Fallout Season 2

Distributor/Streaming service: Amazon Prime Video

Given that Fallout topped our best gaming adaptations of 2024 list, it's not too surprising to see Fallout season 2 place highly here. The bigger surprise is that Amazon has managed to turn around this big budget adaptation in just over a year after its previous season.

But while the first season did an incredible job of setting up an original story with vault dweller Lucy's emergence into post-apocalyptic LA, Season 2's change of locale to New Vegas makes it a love letter to the game series' fan-favorite entry. It's then a real 'made by fans for fans' adaptation with everything from Deathclaws to Sunset Sarsaparilla to Mr. House being the scariest man ever. But once again, the show's standout is Walter Goggins' Ghoul, as are the flashbacks that show us the events leading up to the world becoming a nuclear wasteland. Our Fallout Season 2 review sings its praises plenty if you want to read more.

1. The Last of Us Season 2

Distributor/Streaming service: HBO Max

As an adaptation of the first half of The Last of Us Part 2, fans would already know what would await them, but even that still doesn't stop gaming's equivalent of The Red Wedding from being so brutally uncompromising when it happens at the end of the second episode of Season 2. It's also, however, a more divisive adaptation compared to Season 1's treatment of the first game, including the decision to shift some plot revelations earlier.

An episode directed and co-written by Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann, while the most heartbreaking of the season, also doesn't quite match the masterclass of Season 1's 'Long, Long Time'. Yet it's anchored by the infectious chemistry between Bella Ramsey's Ellie and a terrific Isabela Merced as Dina, providing a source of joy amidst a harrowing journey from Jackson to Seattle. The question that remains is whether it's strong enough to keep us waiting for the second half of this story in Season 3.

We've ranked the best movies of 2025 for your viewing pleasure.

The Minecraft-inspired sandbox RPG fans have waited nearly a decade for, Hytale, is finally set to launch into early access this upcoming January, but it turns out that fans aren't the only folks eager to play – so are Mojang developers themselves.

Well, at least Jens 'Jeb' Bergensten, the lead designer of Minecraft and chief creative officer of Mojang Studios, is. He reveals as much in a new online post, responding to questions on how he feels about Hytale's resurrection after Riot sold it back to Hypixel Studios – and how the community might see it as a "competitor" of sorts to Minecraft. "I'm looking forward to Hytale because I want to play it," Bergensten replies.

As for how he – and likely other Mojang developers – feel about it, Bergensten writes, "There are many Minecraft-like games, so I doubt it will change much for us." He's not wrong. The genre is overflowing with great titles, and it's not as though any of them have ever taken away from the 14-year-old charm Minecraft still boasts today. Plus, Hytale actually sort of has its origins in the sandbox gem, if you take Hypixel into account.

Thank you!I'm looking forward to Hytale because I want to play it. There are many Minecraft-like games, so I doubt it will change much for us.On the second question, I'll repeat my answer that I won't comment on future development plans.

— @jebox.bsky.social (@jebox.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-12-01T17:22:08.112Z

For anyone unaware, Hypixel is a popular Minecraft server that hosts minigames and all sorts of chaos. If you've watched Technoblade in the past or other big names in the community, you might know about it – and its creators, Simon Collins-Laflamme and Philippe Touchette, are two of the masterminds leading Hytale. It's not an official spin-off by any means of the server or Minecraft itself, but its roots are certainly evident.

Neither Bergensten nor other excited fans will have to wait too long now to dive into the magical world of Hytale, thankfully. Its early access date was set last week, marked for January 2026. Seeing as it's already December now, that doesn't leave much time until the Minecraft-inspired sandbox RPG title from Hypixel Studios arrives – and when it does, I have a feeling it'll make quite the impact on the genre.

Hytale's returning owner has hatched a genuinely ingenious marketing strategy: repeatedly telling everyone the game "isn't good," but like, only for now

The Minecraft-inspired sandbox RPG fans have waited nearly a decade for, Hytale, is set to feature a wholesome tribute to one of the most legendary players Mojang's game has known: YouTuber and beloved community figure Technoblade.

Alexander, known by most online as Technoblade, was a popular content creator and Hypixel – the Minecraft server hosted by Hytale's developers – frequenter. Although he passed away in 2022 after disclosing just a year prior that he was battling cancer, Technoblade has lived on since via his dedicated fanbase and tributes like the reference made to his iconic royal pig skin in one of the Minecraft movie Easter eggs.

Hytale is set to feature a similar tribute itself to Technoblade, with Hypixel Studios founder Simon Collins-Laflamme revealing as much in a new online post. "I received Technoblade's father's blessing to add something in Hytale that represents Technoblade's memory," writes the dev. "I want the community involved in this; please share your ideas for what would feel like a meaningful tribute!"

Collins-Laflamme then explains why the Hytale team wants Technoblade to be a part of the new game. "He was a big part of our journey with Hypixel, and I wish for him to be part of this one as well," he describes. It turns out that Technoblade wasn't just a fan of the server's minigames, though – he actually wanted to work with Hypixel Studios as a teenager. In a follow-up thread, Collins-Laflamme shares an email from the YouTuber.

"Some Technoblade lore," says the Hytale lead, a screenshot of a heartfelt "marketing team application" from Technoblade attached. "In 2015, he applied to work for our marketing team, but unfortunately, he was too young back then." The email sees a teenage Technoblade sharing his growing experience with marketing and running his YouTube channel – a channel that he had been uploading videos to since 2013.

It's heartwarming to read – and the idea of a tribute in Hytale, a game Technoblade would undoubtedly be looking forward to now that it's finally nearing its release, is as well. Fans are already taking to Collins-Laflamme's comments with suggestions of what it could be, too. "A Technoblade constellation in the sky would be beautiful. It wouldn't have to be visible every night – or maybe it's just a rare Easter egg," reads one response.

Others suggest a special sword of sorts. Regardless of what it does end up being, however, one thing is for certain – Technoblade will be a part of the Hytale journey in some shape or form, and evidently, he already has been for Hypixel Studios.

Hytale is priced so "aggressively low" that its returning owner is "taking on a considerable personal risk," but "charging more didn't feel right" because "I don't think the game is good yet."

If you've ever wanted to live in an infinite field of nothing, with the gray pallor of death as far as the eye can see, you should consider playing Minecraft. YouTuber Banclam has come up with a demented challenge that will surely satisfy your need for sadness.

"I'm going to attempt surviving in a 100% bedrock world, which is impossible," Banclam declares in a recent video, since nothing in Minecraft can spawn on the indestructible substance bedrock. "Surviving on nothing but bedrock is impossible – but could I survive with just the Bonus Chest?" The Minecraft masochist decided to find out.

Bonus Chests are kits with a semi-random assortment of survival gear, like shiny apples for food, or a wooden pickaxe for mining. Banclam's Bonus Chest ends up being lackluster – it's mostly salmon, oak planks, and some sticks – but the YouTuber decides, "I think we can work with this."

Hey, that's the spirit. And so he starts to toil, building a spawning platform by hand, getting attacked by mucousy slime while trying to steal their slime blocks, and defeating zombies to eat their rotten flesh. He's not living, he's limping past each sunset to sunrise.

Eventually, Banclam gets to rest his tired arms and stand back and notice, "Much has changed about my world over the last couple 100 days [in Minecraft]. That wasn't about to stop anytime soon." Here, he's channeling Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, who once wrote, "Stand firm like a rock, against which though the waves batter, yet it stands unmoved, and they fall to rest at last."

"ive never seen a minecraft challenge so bad it made someone resort to stoic philosophy," says one YouTube comment with over 1,000 likes.

"Sadly, there will never be grass in this world," Banclam says in monotone, indifferent to the tragedy of the desert surrounding him. He later manages to build the most hostile-looking mob farm in existence, and it's quickly overrun by more slime and skeletons.

"Only time will tell if this was all worth it," he concludes, unimpressed.

Minecraft was nearly sold to Activision Blizzard for $1.5 billion before Microsoft secured Mojang, says former CEO Bobby Kotick: "I almost bought it."

Although Microsoft bought both Mojang and its sandbox game Minecraft back in 2014 for a whopping $2.5 billion, the company wasn't the only one to consider the purchase – Activision Blizzard also got close to buying them.

As much was speculated a decade ago, when reports of Activision Blizzard's (and EA's, too) interest in buying Minecraft were circulating around the web – but now, former CEO Bobby Kotick has confirmed that it was indeed one of his considerations years back. "I almost bought it," he admits in a recent podcast with Ari Emanuel and Elon Musk (thanks, GameSpot). He didn't only think about it, however – he actually made an offer.

"I had to spend five days in Stockholm with the guy who founded the company," he explains, referring to Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson. "We offered him $1.5 billion – and he said, 'By the way, I'm quitting, and my top leadership guys are all quitting.' And they only had 30 employees at the company… Like, we can't run your company." After meeting and discussing the offer, Notch called Kotick to reveal Microsoft's own proposal.

The Xbox company wanted to purchase Minecraft and, subsequently, Mojang, for $2.5 billion – a price tag that was likely too high for Activision Blizzard. "I said, 'I'll go airplane shopping with you, but you gotta take that offer,'" Kotick recalls.

Phil Spencer, who serves as the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, ultimately secured the deal to snag Mojang and Minecraft for the $2.5 billion proposed to Notch. Minecraft has now been a Microsoft game for over 10 years.

Kotick praises Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty as well, stating that he's done "a really great job" overseeing Minecraft following Microsoft's acquisition of the beloved sandbox gem and the developer behind it. In a way, one could argue that Minecraft sort of did end up being related to Activision Blizzard somehow, thanks to the Xbox Activision deal that was finally solidified in 2023 after nearly two years of legal battles.

As for Kotick himself, he left Activision Blizzard shortly after, following 32 years at the company – three decades that saw the Activision and Blizzard merge, as well as various other changes that altered the course of the gaming industry's history forever.

Microsoft's seemingly first IP crossover with Activision Blizzard is giving a Minecraft spinoff to the Candy Crush dev.

Way back before Microsoft was shuttering game studios, canceling long-awaited projects, and laying off developers by the thousands, the optimistic among us had some hope that Xbox's acquisition spree would mean that we'd get some wild crossovers between beloved studios and the company's increasingly vast IP library. Maybe we'd get Double Fine's Banjo-Kazooie? id Software's StarCraft: Ghost revival? Obsidian finally getting the chance to make Fallout: New Vegas 2?

None of that ended up happening, of course, but what we are getting is Minecraft Blast, a mobile game built in collaboration between Mojang and Candy Crush developer King, which came under the Microsoft umbrella as part of the Activision Blizzard acquisition. As is often the case for mobile titles, this one quietly launched in a single test market – Malaysia – and the only info we have comes from a small official FAQ.

Minecraft Blast is a free-to-play game that will "combine modern match puzzle gameplay with ever-evolving scenarios set in a Minecraft-themed world. The game will offer quick, easy to jump-in-and-play sessions plus the ability to unlock and build imaginative Minecraft-style spaces."

You'd think it would be fairly easy to make sense of the rules of a mobile puzzle game from a handful of screenshots, but I can't really make heads or tails of what's going on in the preview images. There's a tile grid with a bunch of zombies, items, and blocks of various types, and a move counter suggesting you'll have a limited number of turns to complete your ultimate goal. More concerning is the main menu screen with what appears to be a premium currency and an energy counter, but hey, that's par for the free-to-play mobile course.

Minecraft Blast is still in playtesting, and invites are "time-limited, up to a week or two, to gather early feedback and refine the experience before broader release." It's currently only available on iOS, but the devs "hope to include more mobile platforms with future playtests," and say that "more regions will be included down the road."

Now that Skyrim Grandma's retired, you can occupy your time watching this Minecraft Grandma who yells "die, die, die" at every zombie and skeleton in the game.

Minecraft's Mounts of Mayhem game drop is scheduled to launch by the end of the year, and while that deadline is coming in fast, the devs at Mojang have found time to bring in at least one more additional feature: Netherite horse armor. Yes, horses are finally getting to use the top armor tier, and if you want to try it for yourself, you don't even have to wait for the patch to drop.

Netherite horse armor was revealed with the release of Minecraft snapshot 25w45a, which is available now in Java Edition, and preview version 1.21.130.26, which you can grab via Bedrock. In the announcement post, Mojang says this is "the final testing opportunity" for Mounts of Mayhem, so it sounds like the game drop itself won't be too far off.

"Your horses have always been mighty, but now they’re going to be able to withstand even more mayhem with their brand new Netherite armor!" the devs exclaim with typical enthusiasm. "As we all know, Netherite is not only great for protection, but it is also very, very cool. Just ask the lava it can withstand! As one of the most metal metals Minecraft has to offer, it is only fitting that mayhem-loving mounts can don this awesome armor!"

To craft the Netherite horse armor, you simply need to upgrade a set of diamond horse armor with a Netherite ingot and the appropriate upgrade template.

As somebody who was gaming back when Bethesda kicked open the DLC floodgates with The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, horse armor is still a loaded concept for me – but I get why you'd want to protect your furry mount friends to the best of your ability. At least you can finally get your Minecraft horses that maximum level of protection.

Minecraft surprise drops a full-blown Dragon Ball Z fighting game with 1v1, 5v5, and co-op modes, voxelized Goku and buff Bulma, and skins for the main game.

Minecraft has surprise dropped a Dragon Ball Z crossover DLC, complete with a full-blown fighting game and skins to wear outside the fighting ring.

On Minecraft's official website, developer Mojang announced that the Minecraft Dragon Ball Z DLC, developed by Cyclone, is available now on Minecraft Marketplace. It costs 1510 in-game coins, or around $8.99, and includes a 5v5 mode, co-op, and individual rounds, as well as a suite of themed skins for the main game. You can see it all in action in the trailer embedded just below:

The roster of 11 fighters includes fan-favorite villains and heroes including Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Frieza, Trunks, Krillin, Android 18, Cell, Android 17, and Majin Buu, each with their own unique abilities. Goku's got his Kamehameha and Ki blasts, Vegeta has his Galick Gun and Ultimate Final Flash... you get the idea. You unlock characters as you go by defeating them in battle.

True to form, you'll take part in the World Martial Arts Tournament and climb the ranks by duking it out in iconic locations from the manga and anime series like the Cell Games Arena and Planet Namek, while other spots like Kami's Temple will be used to let you choose your character. Meanwhile, you can also chill out and recharge in Capsule Corporation.

Outside of the arena, the DLC also includes a skin pack that lets you dress up as various DBZ icons like the above fighters, but also as a wonderfully jacked Bulma and others. Finally, there's a limited time Scouter headband you can pick up as part of the collab. That way you can clock the power levels of both friend and foe, naturally, at "over 9000."

Mojang is finally revealing all of Minecraft: Java Edition's code after 16 years to "make it quicker and easier for modders to create and improve mods"

Well over a decade has passed since the release of Mojang's monumental sandbox game Minecraft, with countless mods dropping in that time – but a new change to the Java Edition could mean more Minecraft mods than ever before.

That change is the removal of obfuscation – a process that sees bits and bobs of Java Edition's code obscured and inaccessible. Mojang details its plans to axe obfuscation in an exciting new announcement, one that comes mere days after its post unveiling more of the Mounts of Mayhem update. The developer opens by asking readers, "Do you like to mod Java, tinker with builds, or take deep dives into Minecraft's code?"

It continues with an explanation on obfuscation within the Java Edition: "For a long time, Java Edition has used obfuscation (hiding parts of the code) – a common practice in the gaming industry. Now we're changing how we ship Minecraft: Java Edition to remove obfuscation completely. We hope that, with this change, we can pave a future for Minecraft: Java Edition where it's easier to create, update, and debug mods."

Mojang goes on to recall how it previously cleaned up some of the code's obfuscation in 2019 and beyond. Now, however, the team is removing obfuscation altogether, starting with the first snapshot to arrive post-Mounts of Mayhem. This could present modders with difficulties, but the dev has a solution.

"We know that this change may pose challenges for existing modding tools, which are typically designed for obfuscated code, and we're going to help modders prepare for this change," Mojang admits.

"Starting with the next snapshot, we will provide un-obfuscated 'experimental release' versions alongside obfuscated ones. Modders will be able to use these to test their tools and workflows before we transition fully to non-obfuscated versions."

As for why Mojang is choosing to do this, it's simple. "Modding is at the heart of Java Edition – and obfuscation makes modding harder," the company says. "We're excited about this change to remove obfuscation, as it should make it quicker and easier for modders to create and improve mods. Now you won't have to untangle tricky code or deal with unclear names."

Mojang concludes: "What's more, de-bugging will become more straightforward, and crash logs will actually be readable!"

The dev adds that this change doesn't affect its current EULA at all – so, creative masterminds, get ready to mod.

Minecraft creator weighs in on the Creeper debate sparked by Mojang CCO's recent comments, says he "tried to fix" it years ago because it was "anti-fun"

Mojang has revealed two new mobs coming to Minecraft in the upcoming Mounts of Mayhem update, making the desert that much more hostile.

The next major update, Mounts of Mayhem, was announced during Minecraft Live last month, and while the new Nautilus mob (which doubles as a new mount for the game) and inclusion of spears have been the headlines, Mojang has also confirmed some new enemy mobs to make things that much tougher for desert explorers. In a blog post on the Minecraft website, Mojang writes, "even more challengers have entered the arena formally known as the Overworld."

First to the plate is the Camel Husk – although contrary to being introduced as a challenger, it isn't actually a hostile mob. The post reads, "The days of lazy treks in the desert are OVER. No more sunbathing beneath badlands peaks – no more relaxed sunrises, because the new undead mob – the camel husk – that spawns there may be passive, but the mobs that ride it are most certainly not!"

The Camel Husk can be ridden by Husk or Parched mobs (more on them later), but if you manage to take out its rider (or two at a time), it'll immediately become a friend, allowing you to mount it right away.

While skeletons in Minecraft have the key weakness of hating the sunlight as much as your average League of Legends ranked player (joking), the Parched is a new variant that excels in the desert climate, blasting arrows your way at any time of the day. They can also ride on the back of the Camel Husks for a bit of cooperation.

Speaking of mounts, the new update also allows them to swim. While the Nautilus is obviously the ideal mount for swimming, you'll now be able to traverse waters "at a slower pace" with all in-game. These changes are available right now for those who have enabled snapshots in Minecraft: Java Edition, with the preview for Bedrock and beta set to arrive "very soon."

Minecraft creator weighs in on the Creeper debate sparked by Mojang CCO's recent comments, says he "tried to fix" it years ago because it was "anti-fun."

Earlier this month, Mojang chief creative officer Jens "Jeb" Bergensten bravely said the sandbox game's developers "probably would not add" the Creeper to the game today if they were to consider it, a take the game's original creator apparently agrees with.

Markus "Notch" Persson, the mastermind behind Minecraft and Mojang Studios – which he departed upon selling the company to Microsoft in 2014 – backs Jeb and his opinion on Creepers in a new Twitter post following waves of controversy from fans of the explosive green mob.

"I've been seeing a lot of Jeb hate over him saying the creeper's only around because it's iconic," writes Notch, "and I'd like to set something straight."

He continues, admitting, "This is originally one of MY opinions." In fact, Notch was once so unhappy with the Creeper's design, he tried to "fix" it by altering what triggers its explosions – explosions that have triggered game over for many hardcore saves, and the destruction of countless homes: "I tried to fix the creeper by having it only explode as the result of player (in)action, as I realized random destructive events you have no control over is anti-fun."

This is undoubtedly a surprising admission from Notch, if I do say so myself, as a longtime Minecraft fan. I mean, let's face it – the Creeper is practically the face of the sandbox game at this point, and its spontaneous combustive behavior adds a layer of stress to the otherwise largely peaceful experience. I'm not the only person who feels this way, either, with one commenter stating, "The Creeper was instrumental in the widespread success of Minecraft."

They elaborate that "mobs that cause player death / subsequent loss of resources are scary and annoying, but something that can destroy what you've actually built elevates the game beyond other creative action games." Many fans also seem to agree with Notch and Jeb, though, calling their criticism "a great point." I'm personally content with how things are now, but I do wonder what the Creeper might've looked like had Notch's "fix" worked out…

Minecraft devs explain "players have a different appetite for challenge and difficulty," which is why the Ender Dragon isn't allowed on the overworld: "That's not a great game experience."

Minecraft's developers have explained why the Ender Dragon is bound to its own realm underground and not allowed to roam the overworld.

For a game about building and creation, Minecraft sure has a lot of ways to absolutely ruin all of your creations, and the progress you made towards accruing the materials for said creations. The developers at Mojang seem to understand that, with the CCO of Mojang Jens Bergensten admitting that they probably would not add the Creeper to the game today, despite being the series de-facto mascot, since the ability to destroy builds would undoubtedly be controversial if implemented 14 years later.

In a video titled "THE BIOME THAT BROKE MINECRAFT" Bergensten and creative lead Cory Scheviak talk about designing difficulty in the iconic survival game. "We have this guiding principle that bad things happen, but they're technically the player's fault" Bergensten explains, saying that every issue a player should face is either caused by them or something they could prevent (like stepping on a rogue pressure plate), with the aforementioned Creeper being an exception.

Another one of the rules set out in the video is "don't add features that wrecks player's builds." Scheviak says that "it wouldn't really be a good idea to bring the Ender Dragon to the Overworld because," pausing for a ton of different reasons (such as "I don't need that kind of stress," "it destroys everything," and "it might break a wing on an ice spike").

He adds: "You're just home planting your potatoes and suddenly there's a dragon coming after you." Bergensten agrees: "That's not a great game experience."

Bergensten explains that "players have a different appetite for challenge and difficulty," so a boss fight that comes flying at you and destroys everything isn't exactly going to suit everyone. He cites the Wither boss as an example, which has destructive power akin to a dragon, but you choose when and where you'll summon it for a scrap, allowing you to minimise damage to your house.

After 14-and-a-half years and over $500k raised for charity, Minecraft YouTuber KurtJMac finally reaches the Far Lands

Well over a decade has passed since Mojang saw the release of its monumental sandbox game Minecraft, but the developers are still hard at work on new updates – and apparently, they've got a very precise mantra they try to follow during production.

Jens 'Jeb' Bergensten, the lead designer of Minecraft and chief creative officer of Mojang Studios, reveals as much in a new behind-the-scenes video on YouTube. "When we add new things to Minecraft," he admits, "it's very important that we find the right balance. We want to avoid treating players in a way that feels unfair. So we have this guiding principle that bad things happen, but they're technically the player's fault."

Yes, you read that right – if something goes wrong in-game, it should ideally be the users' own fault rather than any mistake made by the devs. "And what we mean by that is that either the player caused it or the player had a chance to prevent it," as Jeb explains. Creative lead Cory 'Cojomax99' Scheviak agrees, saying, "We try to live by this as best we can. We have a few exceptions." As a player myself, I do wonder what those are.

How does Mojnag manage to strike that "balance" Jeb described, though? "In order to find balance in game design, you have to weigh risk versus reward," the dev says. "You want to make the game feel fab." Scheviak then chimes in, "We like to put the harder challenges later in the game, and we also like to make them opt-in" – and he's not wrong. Most of the "hard" content in Minecraft is entirely optional for those preferring a more creative experience.

As Jeb concludes, "Through that, you are able to balance your own difficulty." That's why, should something go wrong or, as the dev put it, should "bad things happen," it all boils down to the player – not Mojang. You choose whether you're going to take a certain path, fight a specific boss, or take it easy and avoid mobs altogether for more building-focused gameplay. It's part of what makes Minecraft so great, and I, for one, think the formula works well for the sandbox genre, especially.

Minecraft devs "probably would not add" the Creeper to the game today, admits Mojang CEO, because "it would be so controversial."

The seemingly unachievable is about to be achieved – one very dedicated Minecraft player is on his way to reaching the fabled Far Lands after over a decade of traveling toward the edge of the sandbox game's procedurally generated world.

If you haven't heard of him yet, KurtJMac is a YouTuber with one simple mission: reaching the Far Lands in Minecraft Beta 1.7.3 – on foot alongside virtual canine companion Wolfie McWolfington, all while playing in Survival Mode. Kurt's first-ever entry in his "Minecraft Far Lands or Bust" series was posted on March 7, 2011, with regular entries dropping since. In nearly 15 years, though, he has yet to hit the Far Lands.

Although they're not an "official" marker of the edge of the world, so to speak, the Far Lands stand as a terrain generation bug (one that has been resolved in newer versions of Minecraft) and a hard boundary around 12,550,821 blocks from a seed's initial spawn point. They're very visually distinct, with towering blocks of terrain jutting out of the ground peppered by never-ending tunnels, holes, and waterfalls… but they're not easy to reach – normally, anyway.

And "normally," as in by walking in Survival Mode, is precisely how Kurt has been making his way to the Far Lands – a journey that has seen him raise nearly $500,000 for charity projects, including Child's Play, Direct Relief, the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, and the Equal Justice Initiative. It all seems to be coming to a close now, however, as fellow YouTuber AntVenom points out in a new video on Kurt's progress.

Dubbing Kurt's trek to the Far Lands "one of the single greatest achievements in the entire history of Minecraft and arguably gaming," AntVenom explains that he's about to reach that "magical point" that sees the game's terrain go buggy. He knows as much because, well, "I did the math" – and math he did indeed, even though Kurt has only pressed F3, which pulls up a player's coordinates and other information in Minecraft, a total of 12 times.

AntVenom was able to calculate Kurt's approximate location regardless, promising viewers he "is currently walking his final million blocks" to the Far Lands. "How many hours did Kurt spend walking between his last two F3 presses, and how many hours has he walked since his last F3 press?" That's the information AntVenom started with, which told him "pretty accurately where he is, and when he's due to reach the Far Lands."

After putting it all together and working with some "guesstimates," AntVenom deduces that "Kurt only is about 200,000 blocks away from reaching the Minecraft Far Lands, which also means that Kurt is less than 24 hours of walking from completing his decades-long journey to the Far Lands." Should he average three or so hours per stream "as he's been doing," then Kurt will hit the world's edge "somewhere around episode 60."

For reference, he's currently at his 53rd episode of the Far Lands or Bust series – so there's really not long left until Kurt achieves what no one else has in the beloved Mojang game (at least not by walking, anyway). Fingers crossed.

Need some new games to play? Here are some of the best games like Minecraft to jump into right now.

What did you just say? "Minecraft is a sandbox game that babies can play with their foreheads"? Ha. Shows how much you know. Path of Exile co-creator Chris Wilson says that, contrary to what some might think, Minecraft is a pretty intense action role-playing game experience.

Minecraft's survival mode might be "more hardcore than even Path of Exile," Wilson says in a new YouTube video exploring the topic, because if you drop items near lava after dying, those items are destroyed by the heat. Also, there's fishing. Are you convinced yet?

"It turns out that, regardless of where I go, everything in my life is going to look like Diablo 2 or Path of Exile if I stare at it hard enough," Wilson – who exited Path of Exile studio Grinding Gear Games in 2023 after helping found it in 2006 – admits. Though, he dreamed of escaping his ARPG history when he first picked up Minecraft.

"Action RPGs are a fun niche, but I needed to branch out to try something mass market," he remembers thinking. "There's no way that this pixelated kids' game with cute characters, a Jack Black movie, and a trillion views on YouTube is actually a hardcore action RPG in disguise, right?"

WRONG. "Minecraft is all real time," Wilson argues. "Progression in Minecraft is also very item-centric. [...] They've got item enchantments, basically mods from a Diablo or Path of Exile-like game."

And, perhaps the most damning evidence of all, "Minecraft is no exception" in having "extensive fishing systems."

"I find it interesting that, at 42 years of age, I'm sitting there memorizing how, if you fish during a thunderstorm in Minecraft, it will give a 20% faster fishing chance," Wilson says. I also find that interesting.

Minecraft fans are convinced that Mojang has accidentally leaked its next Live event date, but don't get your hopes up – it looks like it might actually be the remains of an old typo.

Fans think Mojang has leaked the date of the next Minecraft Live showcase ahead of its official announcement, but I'm not so certain.

Back in March, Minecraft developer Mojang confirmed that it would be hosting two of its previously annual live events, Minecraft Live, every year going forward, with the March edition being held outside of the typical Fall slot (ahead of The Minecraft Movie releasing), and confirming the Vibrant Visuals update. Yesterday, Mojang posted its weekly Minecraft snapshot and mentioned a game drop that "we are excited to tell you about soon!" However, it didn't mention when "soon" actually is.

Well turns out someone else at Mojang could have accidentally flipped a switch too early, as Twitter user Nintenleaks noticed that Mojang's FAQ section on the Spanish Minecraft Live webpage said (via machine translation) "Minecraft Live will be held virtually on September 22, 2025, starting at 1:00 PM ET," meaning the second of the now bi-annual stream would be taking place in just over a month's time.

However, a user on the r/GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit has since pointed out via the Wayback Machine that this date has actually been on the website since before the Live on March 22 earlier this year, so there's a chance this was simply a big typo. And, considering September 22 is a Monday, when every single Minecraft Live has taken place on a Saturday (barring 2023, which was a Sunday), the likelihood of this being the actual date seems less strong. What's more, the website has now been updated to refer to the March date.

Granted, we know a second Minecraft Live is coming, and that it will probably be in the event's usual September/October time slot. The real interesting leak would be what's to come, as it could be anything. We could get a boring update that just adds a few new mobs and call it a day, or maybe this is the time that the community finally gets it's most requested update: The End update. Or they could add a second type of bee, that'd be cool too.

$1.1 billion worth of Minecraft accounts have played the Hypixel Minecraft server in the past 13 years, founder says, and it's "still growing."

The abrupt collapse of Minecraft-inspired sandbox game Hytale has at times eclipsed the magnitude of the Hypixel Minecraft server that started all this – which, according to its founder, is still very much smashing it.

Hypixel founder Simon Collins-Laflamme, who's recently made headlines over suggestions that he'd spend up to $25 million buying Hytale back from Riot just to see it finished, recently announced that the Hypixel Minecraft server, for the PC Java edition, has seen "38,717,739 unique players" in its 13-year history.

"That's about $1,161,532,170 USD worth of Minecraft accounts," Collins-Laflamme added. This $1.1 billion figure uses the $30 rate for the standard PC edition of Minecraft, which includes Minecraft: Bedrock Edition and Minecraft: Java Edition.

If we use the $40 deluxe collection instead, the value of those accounts jumps over $1.5 billion. Of course, this is all applying the current price of Minecraft to 13 years worth of accounts, when in reality the game was a fair bit cheaper in its earliest days.

That said, this is still a staggering total player count. "An estimated half of players who bought this version of Minecraft played once on Hypixel!" Collins-Laflamme says, adding that the server is "still growing after 13 years."

According to Minecraft MP and Minecraft Server List rankings, Hypixel is also still the most active Minecraft server today. Both sites put it in first place with over 34,000 players online at the time of writing, which is quite a leap over the runnerups.

Hypixel development remains very active as well. Just last week, patch 0.23.2 hit Hypixel Skyblock, adding "the fifth and final tier Spider Slayer boss, being a step up from the Tier V Revenant Horror. It brings with it not just several exciting new drops that aim to alter the overarching slayer progression, but also several key revamps to older items."

Granted, I haven't played Minecraft in a long time, but these patch notes make it pretty clear that Hypixel has essentially spun off into its own thing, using Minecraft as a medium more so than a design reference.

Not even beloved Minecraft servers are immune to live service woes, though. In a reply to the patch notes, Hypixel staffer Donpireso tells frustrated players that "the missing stuff" in the update is "still on the way," admitting that it "would probably have been a better idea for us to delay the update a few days and add the rest."

Minecraft is finally making copper useful with a new tier of tools bridging the gap from stone to iron, and a long-lost mob returning as the automatic item sorter fans have wanted for years.

Copper hit Minecraft back in 2021, but hasn't really done a great job justifying its own existence. Now, Mojang has a new update in store that'll finally give you a reason to use the material, including a whole new tier of tools and the long-awaited return of the copper golem.

In a new update currently available in beta preview on Bedrock - it will eventually hit Java, too - you're able to craft copper pickaxes, swords, and much more. This is a full new equipment tier that'll bridge the gap between stone and iron items, which should hopefully make the early-game grind just a bit less arduous.

"My personal relation to copper in-game is that I mine a bunch of it, forget that I can't use it for tools, and then hold it in my inventory," senior gameplay engineer Matthew Clohessey says in the announcement video. The intent here is to give the very abundant material a proper purpose so it's not just clogging up your chests anymore.

But the return of the copper golem is arguably even more exciting. This creature previously contended for the 2021 mob vote, but ultimately lost to the allay, a creature that would fly around and collect loose items for you. The allay's ultimate form was a bit disappointing because it didn't turn out to be the item-sorting solution players wanted, but the new-and-improved copper golem is set to fulfill that role now.

"The new design is that it's going to move around and take items from copper chests," Clohessey explains, "and put them in either empty chests or chests with a matching copy of that item, to help clean up your inventory management and your chests."

Minecraft players have been building elaborate item-sorting contraptions for years to avoid the pain of inventory management, but the copper golem looks poised to finally offer a vanilla solution to that problem. The fact that it's going to be craftable with such a readily available early-game material is a very nice bonus.

If you're looking for more games like Minecraft, you know where to click.

The worst time to lose a race has got to be right at the finish line. Imagine getting right to the End, everything's gone swimmingly, and then you fall at the last hurdle. That's what happened to speedrunner "skycrab1," who missed out on a world record Minecraft run because an Enderman killed them mere frames before the credits rolled.

As most of you know, each Minecraft world you generate is based on a random seed, meaning it's almost impossible to get two worlds that are the same through sheer chance. As such, it's difficult to properly plan each speedrun attempt, as you need lots of things to go right immediately.

For skycrab1, they did.

They spawned by a ruined portal and a village, meaning they could quickly grab the tools and Obsidian they needed to head to the Nether. They then quickly found the Bastion and Fortress required to get Ender Pearls and Blaze Rods to make Eyes of Ender, and rushed to the End Portal.

In they went, ascending skyward to kill the Ender Dragon with exploding beds, an old trick.

It all went perfectly, they were on track to become the first person to ever beat a random seed in Minecraft in under seven minutes. But, as they dropped back down to the ground with just half a heart of health remaining, waiting for the portal to transport them into the end credits, an Enderman teleported behind them and killed them. Skycrab1's world record victory was gone, and they let out a scream as it happened.

So, what went wrong?

"When the pearl landed at 5:49, he looked at an enderman for 15 frames (nine of which were in the crafting menu)," explains one commenter. "15 frames = 0.25 seconds. It takes an enderman 0.25 seconds to aggro at the player. If he was in the crafting menu for one less frame, or 0.017 seconds less, this would've been the world record. Also, if his crosshair was four pixels to the right, this would've been the world record. It's literally divine intervention."

The community is devastated by this loss. "This is the most depressing thing I've ever seen in my life," writes one person. "I keep rewatching, hoping one time he doesn't die," states another.

Others believe skycrab1 should keep trying. "I'm so incredibly shocked at this run. You shattered every single split record and even killed the dragon. If this isn't proof of you deserving the world record the most, then I don't know what is. Keep your head up."

Despite getting into the End the fastest and even killing the Ender Dragon the fastest, the elusive sub-seven-minute world record still remains tantalizingly out of reach.

If you want more excitement, check out the best speedruns you'll ever see.

A Super Mario 64 fan has managed to recreate Minecraft into the Nintendo 64 game that was released 15 years prior – and it's possible to play it on an actual N64.

Despite being almost 30 years old, Super Mario 64 still has one of the most enduring fan bases of any game. It's one of the biggest speedrunning games of all time, and despite being one of the first ever made, I'd argue it's still the best 3D platformer ever made (or at least the best Mario game). Fans are still so involved with it that this past week, they discovered a hidden sound effect in the game that requires the console to be on for 14 months straight.

And as it turns out, some fans love Mario 64 so much that they're porting other games into it, as seen by Mario 64 hacker Arthurtilly, who has ported Minecraft to the game with the building and world generation system ripped straight from it. Arthurtilly posts a video to their YouTube channel showing it off, saying, "This is a showcase of a Minecraft voxel engine I developed completely within the SM64 engine and can run on a real Nintendo 64 console. It uses multithreading to be able to seamlessly generate terrain and meshes over multiple frames without causing any lag."

In the video, we can see 64-bit Mario running around a land made up of squares, with the ability to destroy and place blocks at the push of a button (it's instant, much like in creative mode). But alongside that, the video shows off multiple biomes based on the tilesets of the original game, including the very cute detail that the music changes depending on the biome (so, Bob-Omb Battlefield for grass, Dire Dire Docks for underwater, and so on). Currently, Mario seems to be only able to drop block and slab pieces, so the full breadth of Minecraft isn't available yet, but there's still enough to get creative with.

However, what may seem like a cool tech demo is actually a full-blown project for Arthurtilly, who says in the video's description that they are working on more features like flowing water and lava, a proper lighting system with a day/night cycle, terrain features such as trees and vegetation "to make the world more lively," and even an inventory system. At the moment, Arthurtilly hasn't released the mod, but it's certainly something to keep your eyes on.

If you ask me, Mario 64 is the cream of the crop, but you should check out our list of the best N64 games of all time to see where it lands.

Minecraft's latest snapshot beta introduces the option to chain boats together with a series of leads, and now fans are reuniting in a demand many of them have been making for years: we really should be able to link minecarts together to build proper trains.

In the 25W16A snapshot, which went live yesterday, the devs have implemented array of changes to how leashes work. Most notably, you can now leash multiple mobs together, letting you take your pets for a walk all at once. What developer Mojang didn't explicitly call out in this announcement is that you can also now leash boats together.

The possibilities of boat-leashing quickly became clear to players. "YOU CAN MAKE TRAINS IN MINECRAFT NOW," as a Twitter post from Minecraft creator silentwisperer puts it. "PLEASE MOJANG LET US DO THIS WITH MINECARTS!"

Being able to leash minecarts together would essentially let you create proper trains which, somehow, Minecraft has never allowed before. At least, not properly – you could technically put small minecart trains together with furnaces in Java Edition, but these constructions were always a little buggy, and the feature has effectively been abandoned by Mojang.

Requests to be able to leash minecarts together have been going since the leash mechanics first started changing in 1.21, and the new showcase of boats getting leashed together has gotten the community once again demanding the feature through Minecraft's official feedback site.

"Trust us Mojang," a slightly ominous comment on that post says. "We NEED this."

Mojang says Minecraft 2 isn't going to happen because it'd be like getting an "Earth 2," but the studio hopes the OG sandbox game stays relevant "at least 15 years more."

Standing the test of time as one of the most iconic games ever made, Mojang's sandbox gem Minecraft has recently returned to the limelight thanks to its live-action film and the accompanying infamous chicken jockey scene – a scene players can now recreate in-game.

There's been no shortage of Minecraft mods related to the movie since its release, from the add-on that puts Jack Black's Steve voice into the game to a mind-bogglingly film-accurate skin referencing the chicken jockey scene. As advertised in a recent Reddit post, said skin looks pretty much exactly like the movie's baby zombie riding a chicken in a fighting ring, from the expressions to the film's version of Minecraft's beloved blocky style.

Commenters seem to love it, too, with many writing that it's "awesome." The chicken jockey skin isn't the only fan creation to feature the scene from A Minecraft Movie, a scene that's seen people bringing literal live birds to movie theaters, either. One new mod on CurseForge, aptly dubbed "Chicken Jockey," is described by creator AvatarKage as making "baby zombies seek out nearby chickens so they can become jockeys."

Elsewhere, fans are posting video guides on YouTube detailing how players can become chicken jockeys themselves – by simply using commands, apparently. If all of that's not enough, though, there's also a chicken jockey resource pack on CurseForge that makes Minecraft's chickens, zombies, and baby zombies "look more like they do in the movie." In other words, there are plenty of ways to turn the game into a chicken jockey-fueled nightmare.

The scene has been causing plenty of chaos outside of the game, too – so much so, in fact, that film director Jared Hess has responded to viewers' reactions in cinemas himself, saying that watching them has been "a total blast." It's certainly been… an experience, to say the least, as a Minecraft fan watching everything unfold from the outside, but it's always nice to see the community's creativity shine through mods, skins, and more.

Looking for something new to play? Here are some of the best games like Minecraft to try.

The developer of Minecraft has warned players about an issue with installing the game's latest update on PC via the Xbox app and says worlds could be lost. 

On March 15, Mojang released a PSA for Minecraft players, telling them not to update the sandbox game through the Xbox app on PC: "If you do, your worlds may be lost," the developer shares to its service status Twitter account. "We recommend that you run the Gaming Services Repair Tool for PC before installing the Minecraft update."

If you head over to the Microsoft website, you'll find more information on the issue. Alongside other known issues this month, you'll find info on the Minecraft update problem. As Mojang has already said, Xbox also recommends using the Gaming Services Repair Tool for PC, which will update to version 19.87.13001.0 and avoid the update error - keeping your worlds safe and sound. 

To find this, head over to the Xbox app (on PC), select your Profile picture, choose 'Support,' 'Gaming Services Repair Tool,' and allow it to 'Start Troubleshooting.' It's a pretty easy fix for the issue but one that has potentially devastating consequences if missed. Here's hoping a more permanent fix is currently in the works. 

Minecraft's most recent update (ver. 1.20.70/71) was rolled out on March 12 and made several changes including giving Wolves double the amount of health they used to, adding a new variant of Skeletons that shoot poisonous arrows, allowing players to use Wind Charge to fire off a Wind Charge projectile, and much more. 

Earlier this week, the artist behind Minecraft's iconic paintings shared the original artwork that was used for the game 14 years ago. Kristoffer Zetterstrand not only shared the original PNGs but also revealed how they got involved in the "little weird indie hobby game" all those years ago. 

Find your next favorite game with our games like Minecraft list. 

This chilled base-builder feels like Minecraft from another universe, and it's already got near-perfect reviews.

Outpath is an "experimental" clicker base-building game where players craft, gather and manage resources, build their base, and buy islands to expand. Interestingly, this base-builder encourages players to play at their own pace and style as there are no time limits or additional pressure. 

Some of the game's other features include fishing, parkour movements, reactive music that changes depending on your actions, and more. If that wasn't appealing enough, it also has a touch of Mojang's Minecraft about it with its blocky, 3D visuals.

The cozy-feeling game was only released a couple of days ago, on October 16, but it's already managed to amass a 'very positive' review rating on Steam, with 99% of its 327 reviews being positive ones. 

A look at the reviews reveals that players see it as "Forager in 3D" - which probably isn't a coincidence considering it's one of the developer's influences along with simulation game Satisfactory and idle game-style gameplay. Other players have praised Outpath's relaxing vibes and simple but inviting gameplay.

Speaking of Outpath's developer, there really is just one person behind this game and it's 23-year-old David Moralejo. The game's designer has been sharing their reaction to Outpath's positive reviews on Twitter, thanking fans for leaving feedback on Steam: "I think it's the first time I saw something like this, 100% positive in 155 reviews in a game. Thank you!" - which feels very wholesome. 

If you now fancy giving Outpath a go, you can try out the game's demo via Steam as well as pick it up with a 10% discount between now and October 23. 

Find out what else should be on your wishlist with our new indie games list. 

The popular and everlasting Minecraft has achieved something that no other video game has done: Mojang's sandbox exploration and building game is now the first video game in history to sell over 300 million copies. 

Ahead of its 15th anniversary next year, developer Mojang announced in a blog post that Minecraft, which has steadily grown in massive popularity for over a decade, has sold over 300 million copies (digital and physical editions combined). The developers also shared new data about player activity, such as stats showing that an average of 15 million skeletons are slayed daily, and an average 6.7 million diamonds are found each day.

"Just recently we also crossed 300 million copies sold, a milestone no one could have dreamed of when we were all building our first dirt houses," Mojang developer Sophie Austin says. "I hope there'll be cake to celebrate our wonderful community, and our soon-to-be 15 years mining, crafting, and respawning together."

This achievement is extra significant because Minecraft is the first solo video game release - not including expanded editions or other iterations - to have sold this amount. The only other game that has come close to Minecraft is Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 5, currently sitting at over 185 million copies, which has also grown in popularity in the decade since its release. 

For further comparison, the best-selling Mario game of all time is the original NES Super Mario Bros., which is sitting at just under 60 million copies sold. The best-selling Switch game is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at 55.46 million.

From its debut in 2009, as an early access release before early access became more widely used by devs, Minecraft has grown into a major cross-media franchise. Following Microsoft's purchase of developer Mojang and Minecraft in 2014, the Minecraft franchise has expanded in larger ways. Along with the video game, there's now a Minecraft movie starring Jason Mamoa on the way. The 2025 movie will be directed by Napoleon Dynamite creator Jared Hess, and written by Rob McElhenney of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame.

Minecraft continues to receive regular updates and content drops, with a new Star Wars-themed update on the way and finally coming soon. The game's success is largely due to its wide appeal across age groups, with children and adults alike able to dive into Minecraft's procedurally generated worlds in solo or co-op play. It also became a popular hangout among streamers over the last decade, which helped propel Minecraft to larger popularity.

The Minecraft mob vote candidates for 2023 are in, and it seemed like an actual fight until somebody said "dog armor."

Sony has said it would have to withhold information about a PlayStation 6 from Activision if it was acquired by Microsoft.

In a new deposition to the US Federal Trade Commission on the matter of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, PlayStation's Jim Ryan made the comments seen below. In short, Ryan says that if Activision was to become a Microsoft-owned company, it would force PlayStation to keep PS6 information away from the publisher.

According to Ryan, PlayStation working with Mojang, the Microsoft-owned developer who makes Minecraft, actually supports this concern. Because of the redacted nature of the comment, however, there's no real way to work out how PlayStation's work with Mojang supports Ryan's new concerns over Microsoft buying Activision. 

As Axios reporter Stephen Totilo recalls in another tweet, Ryan previously stated in December 2022 that Sony had collaborated with Activision on technical features for Call of Duty. The redactions from Ryan's deposition means we don't know what features these are, but it's easy to imagine it being something revolving around the DualSense's adaptive triggers, for example.

This could mean, if Microsoft acquires Activision, that Activision-published games would have less features designed specifically around PlayStation hardware. That's essentially what Ryan's getting at here, although whether that's actually true, or whether Ryan's presenting this as a hypothetical purely to get the merger cancelled is another matter entirely.

This all comes after the FTC recommended blocking Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard King earlier this month. Both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard King said at the time that they plan on appealing the ruling, but for now at least, the potential acquisition looks incredibly unlikely to be allowed to proceed by the US regulator.

Check out our new games 2023 guide for a look ahead at all the games we've got to look forward to throughout the rest of the year.

Minecraft's Trails and Tales update is out next month on June 7.

Earlier this month, we reported that the huge Minecraft 1.20 update seemed nearly ready for launch, with developer Mojang posting new screenshots of the version. Now those theories have come to pass, as it turns out the mighty Trails and Tales update will be out in just a few week's time from now on June 7 on all platforms.

Minecraft's 1.20 update and the Trails and Tales update are one and the same. Trails and Tales is just the subtitle Mojang has doled out for this beefy new update, so don't go thinking Trails and Tales is actually an in-game feature or mode for Minecraft.

Headlining the new update is the Archaeology feature. You'll be able to dig up hidden tools, bones, sniffer eggs, and pottery sherds, and if you put four of the sherds together, you'll craft one seamless pot with its very own patterning, that actually tells a story.

Camels are debuting with the 1.20 update, and as are Sniffers. The former can be found in herds and used to dash around a map with ease, while the latter has been introduced thanks to a fan-vote last year in 2022, joining the game to sniff out ancient seeds.

There's also the brilliant cherry groves offering full-pink wood sets, and 16 total armor trims to find, each of which can be used to give your armor a more personalized look. That's quite the feature list for the Trails and Tales update, especially in a game that's been going for so long as Minecraft.

Elsewhere in new things for Minecraft, we've still got the Dungeons and Dragons mode to look forward to, which promises a huge 10-hour campaign with branching narratives. 

Minecraft 1.20, also known as the Trails and Tales update, is looking set to come out very soon, as developer Mojang is starting to launch pre-release snapshots of the update.

Minecraft has a bit of an idiosyncratic patch release cycle, if you're not familiar with it. Major updates like 1.20 typically get previewed in 'snapshots' - beta versions of the patch made available to any Minecraft: Java Edition players who want to try out new features early. We typically get new snapshots launching weekly for several months, each of which will add a handful of new features debuting in the upcoming update.

Once the snapshots are done, we get pre-releases, which signify when the developers are done adding new features and are making final tweaks and bug fixes. That's where we're at now, as Minecraft 1.20 pre-release 1 has just gone live. You can see the patch notes for yourself on the official site, but they're pretty dry and technical - maybe the most notable thing is that a nearly 11-year-old bug has been fixed, the latest in a chain of fixes for ancient glitches.

Pre-releases continue until the major bugs are stamped out, and then we get release candidates, which are the final test versions that make sure there are no major issues before the actual update goes live. The gap between the first pre-release and the final launch of the update is typically pretty short. It was just under three weeks between the first pre-release and the proper launch of the 1.19 update for example.

This is all a very long-winded way of saying: Minecraft 1.20 is likely to launch across all versions of the game within the next month. It could be longer if Mojang discovers some major technical problems at the last minute, but precedent suggests that we'll be diving into Trails and Tales by early June.

Minecraft 1.20 has a load of new features in store, including things like archaeology, a cherry blossom biome, an armor customization system, and the Sniffer.

This Minecraft Legends guides page has got the full lowdown on the action strategy game, with all of the details you need to know. As a day one Xbox Game Pass title and a recent PlayStation Plus inclusion, this adventure is easily accessible to a wide range of gamers, but you may be wondering if it's right for you – or, you've already downloaded it and are looking for some guidance on what to do next! Either way, here's a round up of everything worth saying about Minecraft Legends, including guides, our review, and much more besides!

Minecraft Legends review

Minecraft Legends platforms

Although Microsoft owns Mojang, having acquired the developer and the Minecraft IP in 2014, the company remains committed to ensuring release parity for this universe. That means that Minecraft Legends in available on practically every platform there is: Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5. Minecraft Legends has also been part of the Xbox Game Pass list from day one, meaning it's available to Xbox and PC Game Pass users as part of that subscription, and it was also part of the PlayStation Plus line up for April 2024.

Minecraft Legends multiplayer

Minecraft Legends has its own systems for multiplayer, where players can team up in either cooperative or competitive gameplay, while fighting the Piglins or each other. For more info about how it works and how you can set it up, our guide to Minecraft Legends multiplayer will explain everything you need!

Minecraft Legends essentials

Getting into Minecraft Legends isn't the easiest thing in the world, especially if you're not used to RTS strategy games. That's why we've laid out some essentials below to help people cross those initial hurdles.

• Our Minecraft Legends tips has a lot of little details we wish we'd known before getting into the game!
• Want all the essentials on how to control mobs in Minecraft Legends? We'll show you how to order your minions and goons around here!
• Alternatively, find out how to build in Minecraft Legends here, with a full explanation on construction and more.
• Even once you know how to steer them around, the Minecraft Legends best mobs will do a lot to help you pick who needs to be in your army!

Getting better at Minecraft Legends

Once you've got Minecraft Legends' fundamentals down and handled, there's plenty more to work out. Here's a selection of guides that'll carry you out of those early moments into the mid-game and further beyond!

• You can't make anything good without a supply of Minecraft Legends iron, which we can show you how to get here!
• Need to get around quick? Our guide to Minecraft Legends fast travel will explain speedy teleportation and transport.
• The Minecraft Legends Prismarine resource acts similarly to experience, so we've laid out how it can be farmed at the attached page!
• The Minecraft Legends Nether Portal is one of the early, tougher experiences, where you have to break into a fortress and destroy the Piglin's portal. It's not the last time you'll have to do this, so our guide will help you in all occurrences!
• The Minecraft Legends Portal Pile is the first of the Lost Legends and Myths to be released, and if you're having trouble beating it, we can explain how!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

Knowing how to invite friends to Minecraft Dungeons means you can form a squad with up to three buddies, to take on daring adventure missions together. Let's face it, anything Minecraft-related is always more fun to do with friends, and this is no different. Having one or more partner by your side can also make things considerably easier, as it means you don't have to battle hordes of enemies or tough bosses on your own. If that sounds like a good time, then here's how you invite friends to Minecraft Dungeons and form a party.

How to invite Minecraft Dungeons friends

To invite friends to Minecraft Dungeons, you need to go to the main menu – aka the hero selection screen – then follow the prompt in the bottom left corner of the screen to set your session to Online Game. When you then choose to Play Online, you'll see a list of any Game Sessions already running that you can join, along with a list of Friends who you can invite to join you.

If there's nobody around that you want to connect with just yet, then you can choose to Start Online Game to begin on your own, with the additional option to make it a Private Game if you don't want anyone joining you without an invitation. Once you're in the game, you can follow the Friends prompt in the top right corner of the screen to bring up the same online menu again, to invite friends to Minecraft Dungeons or join another session. Note that in order to access the menu in-game, you need to have started an Online Game from the main menu, as if you opt for an Offline Game instead then the only options you'll see in the Friends menu are for local multiplayer.

Some players have reported issues when trying to invite friends to Minecraft Dungeons before completing the initial tutorial mission, so if you haven't done that and reached the Minecraft Dungeons camp for the first time then you may need to play through it so that invites will work correctly. The tutorial doesn't take long and will give you a good introduction to the game, so it's definitely worth doing! You should also bear in mind that crossplatform play is enabled by default, which could make it harder for friends to find your session if you're on the same system, so if you encounter any difficulties connecting to friends on a matching platform then try turning off that option in the Settings menu.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Minecraft's archaeology feature has been on hiatus for years now, but the devs at Mojang have finally confirmed that it's set to land as part of the 1.20 update.

Archaeology was announced for the Caves & Cliffs update back in 2020, but in the wake of the update's delays and its split into two parts, the devs announced in 2021 that some features - like archaeology - had "been put on hold," though they had definitely "not been canceled" and were "going to Minecraft in the future when we’re able to add them in the best possible way."

The future is 2023, it seems, as Mojang has now confirmed that archaeology is set to launch as part of the 1.20 update later this year. If you want to try it out before that proper launch, the feature will be available to test in snapshots and beta previews "very soon."

In its current iteration, archaeology hinges on a new block called suspicious sand. You'll be able to use a new tool - the brush - to uncover what hides inside those blocks. The rewards can include random items, as well as pottery shards, which can sport many individual patterns. Combine four shards of your choice together and you get a nifty pot with a custom design.

The devs are drip-feeding information what to expect from Minecraft 1.20, but the update will bring us highly anticipated new features like the armor trim system.

A recent snapshot also confirmed that one of Minecraft's most infamous bugs has been fixed - only a decade late.

The Xbox Developer Direct livestream is done and dusted! It delivered chunky updates on four of Microsoft's key titles - plus a little surprise that you can play later today. 

Here's a recap of everything announced at the Xbox Developer Direct:

• Redfall release date officially confirmed during Xbox Developer Direct
• Minecraft Legends release date revealed alongside peep at franchise's first PvP mode
• Forza Motorsport on Xbox Series X promises better tech advances than Forza 5, 6, and 7 combined
• Xbox shadow drops Hi-Fi Rush, an unexpected rhythm action game from Ghostwire Tokyo devs
• Elder Scrolls Online's next expansion is called Necron and it's taking us to eastern Morrowind, with a new Arcanist class

Starfield however is getting it's own standalone showcase at a later date, to allow Microsoft and Bethesda "to dedicate the proper amount of time for a deep dive". So basically don't expect to see it this evening... unless perhaps to announce the date for said deep dive.

We're just an hour away from the Developer_Direct, so let's run down the four games that are definitely making an appearance, shall we?

ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE

Let's start with The Elder Scrolls Online. We'll be hearing from studio director Matt Firor about the major Chapter update for 2023 and where in Tamriel we'll be heading this time. According to a leak earlier today, it seems this update may be called Necrom and introduce a new Arcanist class. Oh, and that new region is allegedly Morrowind too, so that's all very exciting. 

Today's Developer_Direct stream is being followed up by a standalone ESO Chapter Reveal Event so you'll want to hang around for that one for what Microsoft says will offer "in-depth details ESO players will be keen to know".

FORZA MOTORSPORT

There will also be an update on Forza Motorsport - the upcoming racing sim from Turn10 Studios that was first revealed back in 2020. Last July we got confirmation it's dropping at some point in 'Spring 2023' so it feels ripe for a release date reveal today. We're all longing for Spring, right?

According to Microsoft, today's event will be used "to share more gameplay and exciting new details" on the game, which Turn10 has "built from the ground up to take advantage of Xbox Series X|S". 

We do already have confirmation of some of the vehicles that'll feature in the Forza Motorsport car list along with some of the tracks we'll be careering round too. 

MINECRAFT LEGENDS

Minecraft Legends is also confirmed for some time in the spotlight - and just so happens to also not have a release date. Currently it's just pencilled in for some time in 2023, so perhaps we'll get a narrower window at today's event. 

Mojang has said that today will be used to showcase the PvP multiplayer experience on offer with Minecraft Legends. We've not seen much of the action-strategy game so far beyond the initial reveal, but we're definitely excited to see more of how we'll be defending the Overworld. 

Less than half an hour to go now until the event kicks off properly! Got your snacks ready?

REDFALL

The fourth and final game definitely making an appearance is Arkane's Redfall. It sounds like it's going to be quite a dominating section of the event (which is rumored to last around 44 minutes). 

Microsoft has said to expect "several minutes of gameplay" that will include single and multiplayer showcases. "Fans can expect to learn more about combat, customization, bosses, the open world, and more."

Again, Redfall doesn't currently have a set release date beyond "the first half of 2023". We're definitely hoping that the date gets pinned down for this highly anticipated upcoming Xbox Series X game.

SOME SURPRISES?

That's it for the confirmed appearances, but does Microsoft have any secrets up its... sleeves? Can a global corporation have sleeves? Anyway...

Rumor has it that Tango Softworks (the studio behind Ghostwire: Tokyo and The Evil Within) has something in development called Hi-Fi Rush. As to what it could be about, that's more of a mystery, so let's see if it does get revealed at today's event. 

Interestingly, there hasn't been much other chatter about the event, and Microsoft's own Aaron Greenberg has said not to expect more than the four games it has already announced for the show. In a tweet, Greenberg said, "as outlined in this announcement our goal has been to be as transparent as possible on what dev teams/games to expect to see in the show".

There's five minutes to go... I wonder what'll be first on the list? My money's on Elder Scrolls Online.

Okay, here we go!

As a reminder, you can watch along at Xbox's YouTube or Twitch channels, or Bethesda's YouTube or Twitch channels

Here comes the countdown! 

Does anyone else hate it when a countdown leads to another countdown?

This one is so close to that old DVD menu thing, but without the corner drama.

Cheeky reminders of the developers involved for today's Developer Direct. Arkane Austin for Redfall, Mojang Studios for Minecraft Legends, Turn 10 Studios for Forza Motorsport, and ZeniMax Online Studios for Elder Scrolls Online.

Minecraft Legends is kicking things off! 

You can play the campaign online with friends as a co-op experience, but also as a 4v4 PvP multiplayer mode too. 

It's being developed in partnership with Blackbird Interactive too. 

In the PvP mode, you share your army and resources with your team members, so that no one person can win the battle on their own. 

The world is procedurally generated in PvP - just like the campaign - which means it's going to be different every time you play. 

Piglins will also be trying to attack both teams during PvP too, so there's going to be a lot to worry about.

You'll need to build your base, gather resources, react to enemy attacks, and constantly evolving your tactics. It sounds brilliant fun!

And there's a release date! APRIL 18 for Minecraft Legends

Forza Motorsport is up now and we're already getting claims it's the most "technically advanced racer". We certainly know it's going to be pretty.

It'll feature over 500 cars at launch with over 800 unique upgrades. 

Advancements to tech are greater than Forza 5/6/7 combined...

That's some seriously shiny car paint folks. Plus you'll get unique and contextually aware dirt and damage build up. 

Lots of audio enhancements too - so definitely time to upgrade my Xbox Series X headset!

It'll launch with 20 environments, and 5 tracks that are brand new to the Forza Motorsport series - alongside some familiar ones too of course. 

Forza Motorsport will have 10x more detail in its tracks than any game before it. 

Ooft the ray tracing sounds excellent. But then Turn10's games have always looked stunning. 

Online Racing Mode and building focused career mode mentioned - it had something to do with sim in the name but I didn't catch that. 

No release date on this one - it's still a "coming 2023" release.

Oh hello - this isn't one of the four announced games is it...

Absolutely loving the Jet Set / Sunset Overdrive vibe on this

And here it is! Hi-Fi Rush from Tango Gameworks! What a unexpected look and feel!

This is a rhythm action game, where your attacks need to flow with the beat in order to get more powerful - and more awesome. 

You're playing as a wannabe rockstar who can feel the rhythm of the world. The beat moves the world around you and then you move to the beat. 

On the beat attacks add more flair and finishing moves too. 

You can jump, dodge, and parry attacks whenever you want - the key is just feeling the beat. Progress isn't blocked by missing a beat, but you do get more for keeping in rhythm. 

Our hero Chai also has some friends - including a robot cat called 808. Oh, nice reference there Tango friends.

When you're not fighting, you're also exploring and working with your friends to take down the bosses at a tech company. 

Each level has its own take on the rock genre for a soundtrack, and then there's a boss battle at the end of each. These will also feature licensed music. 

YOU CAN PET THE CAT

Umm it's coming out TONIGHT?

On Game Pass too. 

Sign us up.

It's been a while since we've had a "And you can play it now" announcement. What a little treat.

Elder Scrolls Online time - let's see what's next for our adventures in Tamriel.

Arcanist class is confirmed, and will bring abilities never seen before in the Elder Scrolls Online world.

Eastern Morrorwind is our next location too - an area not explored since 1994!

All previous chapters and over 20 DLCs for Elder Scrolls Online are now free for a limited time on Game Pass right now!

Elder Scrolls Online: Necron is the name for the next expansion too.

Saving Redfall until last! So excited for this one.

Let's head down to Redfall, Massachusetts shall we?

It's going to be Arkane's largest setting ever - hand-crafted and packed with environmental storytelling. 

Seaside boardwalks, haunted forests, and more will be your playgrounds here it seems, but there will also be five bases where you'll receive missions from survivors. 

Here's an example of just one of the bases.

One of the missions seemingly involves returning a lamp to a lighthouse, but because you've pissed off the vampires, they call in a Vampire God to give you absolute hell. 

Like Arkane's other games, you can choose to tackle missions in a variety of ways. Here we've got Remi using her gadgets to distract before attacking.

Was that an exploding clown? Here's me thinking vampires were the scariest thing in this game. 

That was an example of a side quest outside the main mission too, trying to save and protect survivors.

One of the other side quests will include clearing a vampire nest - complete with pulsating giant heart.

You'll also have to work to clear neighbours by finding safe houses and then working up to the vampire hideout controlling that neighbourhood. 

Loving the look at the massive web of upgrades for each character too. 

Are we getting a release date now.... *CROSSES EVERYTHING*

Wahoo! Redfall is coming on May 2

Little recap here of the dates and games showcased today.

And that's a rap! Exactly what we were hoping for bar a release date for Forza Motorsport there. 

Plus a bonus in Hi-Fi Rush that's out today!

Xbox head Phil Spencer has made it abundantly clear that Call of Duty will be remaining on PlayStation consoles.

Appearing on The Verge's Decoder podcast earlier this week, Spencer was once again asked about taking Call of Duty off PlayStation systems, provided Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard proceeds. "It’s not about at some point I pull the rug underneath PlayStation 7’s legs," Spencer began by saying. 

"This idea that we would write a contract that says the word forever in it I think is a little bit silly, but to make a longer term commitment that Sony would be comfortable with, regulators would be comfortable with, I have no issue with that at all," the head of Xbox continued.

Spencer, and Microsoft at large, have been asked numerous times about Call of Duty since it was announced the company would be acquiring Activision Blizzard earlier this year. Last month in October, Spencer revealed his wish to treat Call of Duty like Minecraft, and put it on as many platforms as possible despite the acquisition (Microsoft previously acquired Minecraft developer Mojang). 

Despite this, PlayStation head Jim Ryan called Spencer's offer of keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation platforms "inadequate on many levels." Countering this, Microsoft then asserted that even if every Call of Duty player switched to Xbox consoles, PlayStation would supposedly still have a bigger audience. 

Considering Modern Warfare 2 just had the biggest Call of Duty launch ever on a PlayStation console last month in October, perhaps it's not surprising Spencer wishes to keep the series on Sony's platform. 

Activision Blizzard's president recently asserted he was confident the Microsoft acquisition would close by June 2023. 

The best games like Minecraft can offer up similar experiences that tap into some of Mojang's signature ingredients. Whether you enjoy building and crafting, or you're after more adventures with survival elements, there are plenty of great alternatives to explore if you're looking to get stuck into something like Minecraft.

Minecraft's blocky world is a great place to let your creativity loose, and with so much freedom to shape spaces, it really has become a builder's dream. And, with the recent release of A Minecraft movie, now is the best time to jump into a server! Minecraft has gone on to influence many releases since it first launched back in 2009, and with a wealth of updates and additions, there's a reason it's still going strong to this day. And one of the most beloved crafting games around, it continues to inspire new games.

So, whether you're after something that will help you get creative, you want to get stuck into another building adventure, or you want to try out another survival experience, read on below as we take you through our pick of the 25 best games like Minecraft you can play right now.

25. The Forest

Developer: Endnight Games Ltd
Platforms: PC, PS4

The Forest drops you in the middle of the wilderness (quite literally: you crash a plane) and forces you to craft weapons and shelter to survive against an apparently nocturnal tribe of cannibals. It's totally like playing Minecraft - if Minecraft's creepy hissing spiders were bloodthirsty savages trying to eat you. However, if the screenshot above wasn't clear, The Forest is far scarier than Minecraft would ever want to be.

There’s a real Green Inferno vibe underscoring the whole thing, what with you being lost in the wilderness scavenging for food, building shelter from the weather, and fighting off aggressive club-toting mutants. Not for the kids. But it's the best horror game for Minecraft fans, for sure!

24. Roblox

Developer: Roblox Corporation
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, iOS, Android

In its ridiculously popular online sandbox, Roblox lets you create just about anything that you can think of. Want to build a massive skyscraper only to watch it blow up in spectacular fashion or host a disco party complete with flashing lights and an on-stage DJ? Go for it.

The world is yours to do what you will with it, and the possibilities are endless, thanks to the game's intricate editing tools. Roblox puts a huge focus on the social aspects of building and dismantling with friends, with virtually everything in the world created by the players (and there are a lot of them). Try it if Minecraft is a bit too solitary for your liking.

23. Terraria

Developer: Re-Logic
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

As in Minecraft, many a tree will be slaughtered on your way to building shelter when first starting out in the 2D world of Terraria. But it’s a necessary sacrifice, as there are things that go bump in the night in this world - things that would very much like to slay you, actually, even as you try to figure out what to do with your steadily increasing pile of natural (and supernatural) resources.

Thankfully, Terraria gives you more options when it comes to disposing of the encroaching evil with a greater emphasis on combat and unique items; and crafting is more than just a means of security against the persistent dangers of the world, conquering the world’s bosses and dungeons along the way.

Read our Terraria review

22. Castle Story

Developer: Sauropod Studio
Platforms: PC

Although it's a strategy game, Castle Story's strong focus on tactically overpowering your enemies doesn't mean you won't also be building all manner of structures in the process.

The need to partake in mass deforestation is also a shared trait with Minecraft, but it’s all for a good cause, that good cause being an impenetrable castle entirely made out of wooden blocks. The extra spice in Castle Story's gameplay comes from getting to design your own defenses in what quickly turns into a wonderfully addictive marriage of creativity and tactics.

21. Stardew Valley

Developer: ConcernedApe
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

With all the large-scale construction going on, it’s easy to forget that Minecraft features the chance to indulge in the underrated joys and small victories of owning and caring for a garden or even a full-blown farm. Stardew Valley is an entire game that revolves around that very same idea. That said, there's quite a bit that sets it apart.

In Stardew Valley, players can get to know their local community of fictional characters, and even spark up a romance with some of their neighbors if they want to. The game also takes inspiration from the likes of Animal Crossing and JRPGs as much as it does Minecraft, and that hybrid nature keeps it from leaning too heavily into one single genre.

20. Ark: Survival Evolved

Developer: Studio Wildcard
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

While "Minecraft with dinosaurs" is probably a little too reductive of a description, it certainly gives you an idea of what to expect from Ark: Survival Evolved. You gain consciousness on the beaches of a mysterious island chock full of Jurassic beasts, but it’s not long before your skills in crafting and combat come in handy in the quest to become king of the jungle.

Ark is a game obsessed with Darwinism and the hierarchy of nature. Start as naked prey, become an apex predator. The game slowly becomes less of a survival experience and more of a power fantasy, emulating the concept of evolution in a way that few other titles have. It's also one of the best dinosaur games around, so check it out!

19. CubeWorld

Developer: Picroma
Platforms: PC

Cube World has its roots in crafting and character progression and takes place in randomly generated worlds full of blocks as far as the eye can see. There’s a strong focus on cosmetic customization, with characters able to modify their armor and other wearables for the sake of fabulous self-expression.

But Cube World cribs from games like The Legend of Zelda, too. Inspired by such exploration-heavy games, Cube World gives players an arsenal of skills to better help them trudge through the endless world. Choosing a class and specialization for combat turns the game from a simple exploration simulator into a meaty RPG adventure packed with missions, bosses, and creepy caves to explore.

18. Trove

Developer: gamigo US Inc.
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One

Trove is a voxel game, so its resemblances to Minecraft are immediately apparent, at least from a visual point of view. Trion World’s action-oriented MMO features mines and caverns crawling with enemies and the promise of untold rewards, letting players team up with friends to progress their character and conquer Trove’s sizeable to-do list.

However, Trove is more concerned with being an MMO than a Minecraft clone, with its extensive range of classes designed to facilitate and encourage variation in playstyle. Its employment of loot, bosses and dungeons again draws from the well of RPG tropes to deviate from the conventions of its aesthetic inspiration.

Check out our list of the best MMORPGs

17. Starbound

Developer: Chucklefish
Platforms: PC

The tagline for Starbound is a pretty good summation of what to expect: "survive, discover, explore, and fight." Beyond that, an infinite universe means there are loads of possibilities in its generous heaps of 2D co-op gameplay, not least when it comes to shaping the world and discovering new locations to set up shop.

Exploring the game with friends - whether it's just to farm, try your hand at space exploration, or create weaponry for quests - is designed to be enjoyable in itself, rather than just a means to an end. And while it is an open-ended experience, the addition of quests and NPCs imbues the game with a contextual purpose, unlike the narrative-free adventuring of Minecraft.

16. Colony Survival

Developer: Pipliz
Platforms: PC

At first glance, Colony Survival is another game which could easily be mistaken for Minecraft (albeit Minecraft with some very nice shaders), but it’s actually a very different beast. An unusual blend of tower defense and survival strategy, you’re tasked with building a colony from scratch (or assigning your various colonists to build it for you) and defending it against the hordes of monsters that attack your settlement each night.

The colonists are the core of the gameplay, able to be assigned by you to different roles, including guards, farmers, and miners, and generally being a lot more clever than your average mumbling Minecraft villager.

Read our list of the best city building games

15. Kerbal Space Program

Developer: Squad
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One

At its core, Minecraft is all about unleashing creativity and problem-solving. You need a bed, so you gather the materials, arrange them as needed, and construct a bed. Kerbal Space Program is much the same way.

No, you're not out in the wilderness building massive replicas of famous locales, but you're using critical thinking skills to help cute cartoon critters survive the harsh reality of space travel. And, like Minecraft, Kerbal Space Program has been used by teachers in schools as an educational tool. See, games can be fun and educational!

14. Don't Starve

Developer(s): Klei Entertainment, Blitworks
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

The Creeper will always remain the king when it comes to survival crafting scares, but Don’t Starve’s consortium of creatures come pretty close to dethroning that Minecraft icon. The similarities also extend to Don’t Starve’s emphasis on staying alive by crafting tools and shelter despite your incredibly limited resources.

However, the game stands apart thanks to its wonderfully gothic aesthetic, which looks like a children's book fused with H.P. Lovecraft. And, as the title implies, Klei Entertainment’s roguelike uses hunger as merely the first challenge for players to race against in a tough-as-nails survival experience. Staying nourished has never been so intense, and fire has never been a greater friend.

Read our Don't Starve review

13. Dragon Quest Builders 2

Developer: Square Enix
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC

Another game which wears its Minecraft inspiration on its sleeve is survival-craft action RPG Dragon Quest Builders 2. The game drops you into a charming block-based fantasy land being oppressed by an evil cult. The cult’s aims? To eliminate all those who dare to be creative.

As a result, the world is falling to bits, and it is your job to defy the cult and help the people reconstruct their destroyed land. Building on the decades-long success of the Dragon Quest series, the game differs from its inspiration with the inclusion of a variety of RPG-style quests, as well as familiar series elements such as slimes, quirky dialogue, and an enchantingly retro soundtrack by series regular composer Koichi Sugiyama.

Read our Dragon Quest Builders 2 review

12. Slime Rancher 2

Developer: Monomi Park
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5

Slime Rancher 2 sees you play as Beatrix LeBeau as you venture to Rainbow Island, which is full to the brim with cute slime-shaped friends to discover and collect. If you enjoy the building aspect of Minecraft, or even the farming elements, you're sure to also enjoy expanding your own conservatory, crafting new helpful gadgets, and upgrading your vacpack - a unique tool that allows you to gather resources and collect slimes.

With a vibrant landscape to explore, a variety of slimy critters to find, and plenty to work towards, there's a satisfying sense of progression that likely clicks with you if you enjoy games like Minecraft. As the sequel to Slime Rancher, which launched in Early Access, it's also well worth checking out the original game, too.

Read our Slime Rancher 2 review for more

11. Lego Worlds

Developer(s): TT Games, Traveller's Tales
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Lego Worlds is based heavily on Minecraft, which itself takes a lot of inspiration from Lego itself, so yeah, you could say these two games have quite a bit in common. You can destroy and build ‘en masse’ in Lego Worlds, tearing down entire environments in one foul swoop to build fantastical structures using its suite of robust crafting tools.

But there’s also a campaign mode, collectibles, classic Lego-style gameplay, and a wonderfully theatrical Peter Serafinowicz narrating the whole thing. Lego Worlds brings that classic Lego charm to the genre that it’s partly responsible for creating, which lends the game an infectious quality that manages to constantly charm the pants off of anyone messing around in its brick-based biomes.

Check out our list of the best Lego games of all time

10. Factorio

Developer: Wube Software
Platforms: PC

Survival meets resource management in this time-eater from Wube Software. After crash landing on an alien planet, it’s up to you to build the machines to survive (and potentially escape) this hostile new world. The developers have made it no secret that they were inspired by Minecraft mods such as IndustrialCraft, and the spirit of building and surviving is no secret in Factorio.

The game is one of the more complex ones on this list, but with time to invest and careful organization, you could soon be the owner of a shiny new industrial sprawl. However, beware: The alien wildlife has been taking lessons from the zombies and creepers and will grow increasingly hostile to you the more you build and pollute their planet!

Read our list of the best crafting games

9. The Flame in the Flood

Developer: The Molasses Flood
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

For anyone who takes satisfaction from the risk-reward dynamic of survival crafting games, but is burnt out on the first-person style gameplay which first originated with Minecraft, there’s a good chance The Flame in the Flood will be right up your alley. Unlike most survival games, you’re constantly on the move in The Flame in the Flood, heading downstream in a washed-out USA to find the source of a radio signal.

This figurative and literal flow of pace, in addition to the ambient visuals and folksy soundtrack, allows Flame in the Flood to really stand out, making it well worth its comparatively higher asking price. Plus, who doesn’t like the idea of a loyal dog for a companion in these trying times?

8. Craft the World

Developer: Dekovir Entertainment
Platforms: PC, iOS

An underground labyrinth is in need of exploration and mining, and Craft the World leaves a group of dwarves under your command to find what they need to construct fantastic fortresses. Once done with their days-long construction project, it's time to craft weapons, items, ammunition, and more via the in-game library of simple recipes.

But unlike in Minecraft, where you are but a single presence in the world, Craft the World gives you a group of earth-dwelling homunculi to help with a variety of tasks. Need some extra muscle? Order them to fend off approaching baddies. How about some setting up some traps? Give a couple of clicks here and there, and you can send them on their merry way.

7. No Man’s Sky

Developer: Hello Games
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch

If Minecraft first popularized the concept of procedural generation, No Man’s Sky took that idea and launched it sky-high into the great expanse. You’re not exploring a single world but over 18 quintillion planets, though that familiar survival crafting loop is alive and well here; there are just spaceships and aliens involved now, too.

The game had a rough start, as it wasn't quite able to live up to the lofty expectations of players. Since then, however, it's been completely revamped and reshaped into a truly worthwhile experience bursting with things to do. Bored with a planet? No need to create a new world, just hop into your spaceship and fly to another one.

Read our No Man's Sky review

6. Fallout 4

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One

As an open-world RPG from Bethesda, Fallout 4 probably doesn’t immediately strike you as a spiritual spin-off to Minecraft. But take a look at the Settlement system, in which you can dismantle structures to acquire resources and build wondrous bases. This feature boasts all the hallmarks of classic Minecraft gameplay, and Bethesda hasn’t been shy of expressing its fondness for that franchise in the past.

Of course, the reality is that Fallout 4’s Settlement feature is just a small part of a much larger game, and you can completely ignore it if you want to. But experimentation with Fallout 4’s assortment of crafty contraptions brings its own unique rewards that can’t be found anywhere else.

Read our Fallout 4 review

5. Space Engineers

Developer: Keen Software House
Platforms: PC

A classic space-based sandbox, Space Engineers lets you engineer spaceships, vehicles, and planetary outposts in both survival and creative modes. With its unusual volumetric physics engine, you can dig, build, and destroy absolutely everything you see (and if that isn’t in the spirit of Minecraft, nothing is).

Technology in the game is designed to be realistic and accurate to what could be created in real life in the near future, so it’s educational (kind of), too! Multiplayer lets you play with up to 16 players per world, allowing you to work together or fight each other for control. And the game’s healthy modding community gives you access to new ships to fly and planets to explore.

Read our list of the best space games

4. Junk Jack

Developer: Pixbits SRL
Platforms: PC

Players can join you in Junk Jack for friendly crafting and exploring (or devious killing and trapping) in this pixelated 2D playground. You just never know what's going to happen if you dig too deep or venture far from home, but it usually ends in death. Many games of this ilk tend to plop players down into a new world and let them run wild. Junk Jack takes a different approach.

A lengthy tutorial introduces the premise and helps newcomers really understand the nuances of the game, while a simpler crafting system using item recipes also helps usher in less experienced players. That simplicity doesn’t come at a sacrifice to purpose either, which arrives in the form of several in-game goals to accomplish.

3. Fortnite

Developer: Epic Games
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android

You may be more familiar with its battle royale mode, but Fortnite has a co-op mode too, you know! In Fortnite: Save The World, you start out wielding naught but a giant pickaxe, which you can use to whack against trees, rocks, and basically anything else to break down for materials in your quest to build the coolest fortress ever.

That fortress will need to be set up post-haste too, as zombies are on the march, and they’re looking to destroy everything within their path. Sounds pretty Minecraft-y to us. And, if you do want to check out Fortnite: Battle Royale, you'll find out what happens when survival crafting meets PvP.

Read our Fortnite review

2. Subnautica

Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PS5, PS4

Subnautica’s unique brand of underwater, futuristic survival leaves you stranded on the mysterious and watery Planet 4546B, an ocean world teeming with hostile life. Like Minecraft, your task as a lone survivor is to explore the world, overcome its dangers, and collect resources to build bases, submersibles, and new tools.

Unlike Minecraft, however, as well as staying fed and healthy, you’ll have to keep an eye on your oxygen levels as you plunge into the depths of the ocean! Also, unlike its block-based precursor, Subnautica also has a proper plot, which players will unearth (or un-water) as they discover their home. The game also benefits from VR support, giving you a truly immersive experience.

Read our Subnautica review

1. Eco

Developer: Strange Loop Games
Platforms: PC

Eco takes the top spot on our list because it takes the foundations laid by Minecraft and builds upon them to form something that feels like a significant progression of those ideas. Like Minecraft, Eco has been used as a teaching tool as well as a game, and for good reason. In this world, everything is connected, and you need to build a civilization from the ground up.

That means not only are you chopping down trees to build a place where you can craft your various recipes, but you're also chopping down trees in places where doing so won't erode the soil, and keeping the waste byproduct of your crafting limited so as not to pollute the water. While there are many modes of play, arguably the most challenging is to build up a society with other players that is capable of stopping a meteor from destroying everything. Yeah. Good luck with that!

For more fresh picks, head over to our guide listing all the upcoming PC games heading our way!

This year's Minecraft mob vote will offer players a choice between the Sniffer, Rascal, and Tuff Golem, but it's already looking like a landslide victory for the first item in that list.

Every year, developer Mojang presents three concepts for potential new mobs, and players get to vote on which one they want added to the game. This year, that vote will be taking place in-game, running for 24 hours starting on October 14 at 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST. Previous mob votes have introduced creatures like the Allay to Minecraft.

The first of this year's options to be announced was the Sniffer. This mob is basically a tortoise. You can find its eggs in underwater ruins and help them hatch, bringing the creature back from extinction. They'll help you find ancient seeds that you can raise into never-before-seen types of plants.

The Rascal can be found anywhere underground, and will play hide and seek with you. If you find it three times, it'll give you a reward that'll aid in mining.

Finally, the Tuff Golem will pick up dropped items and hold them. And… that's pretty much it. You'll build them, and they'll basically walk around as mobile item display units.

Since the Sniffer adds both a major new gameplay component and new decorative items, the popular online sentiment is that the vote's going to be an easy sweep for team turtle.

"Sniffer is an easy pick when compared to the other two mobs," Reddit user purplevariant says.

"You smell that?" DHMOProtectionAgency asks. "I smell a Sniffer Sweep."

King_Sam-_- says that "all 3 of these are really disappointing imo, the sniffer is just the least disappointing, I think this year we’ll have the most one sided mob vote with the golem in 2nd and the sniffer still with a large majority of the votes."

This is a small sample of sentiments, of course, but there's not a ton of outlying support for the Rascal or Tuff Golem right now. Maybe we'll see a turn in the week leading up to the actual vote, but right now it sure smells like a Sniffer victory.

Do you want to see the entire universe in Minecraft? This community's wonders will never cease.

A Minecraft player has built the entire universe in-game, and even Xbox can't believe what it's seeing. 

YouTuber ChrisDaCow has gone above and beyond in Minecraft's Creative mode by recreating the whole universe. We're talking a Black Hole, Nebula, Solar System, the lot. The incredibly impressive build has been shared to both Reddit (where it already has 110k upvotes), and Twitter - with the official Xbox account retweeting it and adding: "Go back to bed, nothing you do today will be this good." Which is pretty high praise, honestly. 

In the short video, ChrisDaCow shared small glimpses of their universe alongside a fitting soundtrack, which makes the whole thing feel even more epic. They did however also break down exactly how they managed to complete such as task in a separate video. In a bizarre turn of events, the YouTuber starts the video by jumping out of an airplane explaining that this is how they attempted to get a good look at Earth. 

According to the video, this obviously wasn't a good enough technique so ChrisDaCow then decided to go for the much easier option and just looked at a globe. With this, they then measured the location of each continent to perfectly replicate the planet. This wasn't accurate enough for our Minecraft builder though, as they then set about coloring each of the continents the exact same colors as they appear from space, which ended up taking three days to do. Talk about dedication. 

After this, ChrisDaCow then set out to create the rest of the Milky Way including Mars, Venus, Mercury, all the other planets in our solar system, and the Sun. They did have to make Earth - and the smaller planets around it - 700,000 times smaller than they actually are though if they were ever going to fit into the build. Saturn was particularly difficult to sculpt and it ended up taking ChrisDaCow a whole day just to perfect the rings surrounding it. 

So much more went into this project than what we've mentioned in this story, so make sure to watch ChrisDaCow's video to understand just how big of a build this is. 

If you now feel like giving up on Mojang's sandbox game because, who would blame you, take a look at our games like Minecraft list for inspiration on what to play next.