What is ‘Minecraft Legends’? Everything You Need to Know About This Spin-Off Game

While Minecraft isn’t quite the cultural phenomenon it was a few years ago, the franchise remains one of the most successful in all of gaming. Mojang Studios and Microsoft are looking to leverage that success into another spin-off game, Minecraft Legends, which sends players on a strategic adventure filled with Creepers, Zombies, Skeletons, and other iconic faces from the series.

If you’re looking to learn more about what Minecraft Legends is, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming game, along with a comparison between Minecraft Legends and the original Minecraft.

Minecraft Legends is an action strategy game set in the Minecraft universe. You’ll explore a wide variety of familiar biomes as you slay hordes of Piglins and try to save the Overworld from being overrun by creatures from the Nether. Battles play out on a massive scale, with dozens of enemies (and allies) polluting your screen at any given time.

When you’re not engaging in real-time, strategic combat, you’ll be able to explore a world that’s littered with things to find and resources to pillage. However, instead of forcing you to collect things bit by bit, you can send villagers out to create a stockpile. You’ll then be able to use these resources to craft a wide variety of items and structures.

Put another way, Minecraft Legends is a cross between the original Minecraft and RTS titles like Age of Empires. You’ll still be mining and crafting, but there’s an added emphasis on massive, real-time battles, that can’t be found in the original.

Minecraft Legends and Minecraft share much of the same DNA. After all, they’re from the same studio. But beyond its art style and the need to continuously craft and build, there are a few big differences in Minecraft Legends.

For one, combat is played out on a much larger scale. Where the original Minecraft would have you screaming in terror after encountering a lone Creeper, Minecraft Legends wants you to face off against legions of enemies at once. You’ll even be able to recruit several allies to your cause and let them fight on your behalf.

The game is also played from a third-person perspective, as opposed to Minecraft’s default first-person view. This will give players a better view of the battlefield and help them develop a plan of attack. The change of viewpoint highlights the main difference between the two games, as Minecraft is very much about survival and doing things on your own, whereas Minecraft Legends is about massive encounters and crafting sprawling encampments.

Minecraft Legends releases on April 18 for PS5, Xbox, Switch, and PC. It will offer a solo and cooperative campaign, along with a competitive multiplayer mode. Preorders are now open, though the title will also be a day-one launch on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.