Minecraft Legends Release Date: Platforms, Gameplay, And Everything We Know So Far

Minecraft Legends is set to be the next spin-off in the massive Minecraft franchise, which began with the titular survival game back in the early 2010s. Minecraft has grown into a life of its own, with several spin-off games that have taken the series in wildly different directions, all of which are highlighted on the game's website. 

You may want to know more about the action strategy experience you can expect in Minecraft Legends, such as how it differs from Minecraft itself, and what similarities it bears. So, take a look at our full breakdown of Minecraft Legends.

Minecraft Legends Release Date

During the Xbox Developer Direct in January 2023, we learned that the game will launch on April 18, which is only a few months away as of writing this. Previously, the game only had a release window of 2023.

Minecraft Legends Trailers

The game's reveal trailer came at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase for 2022, which was part CGI and part gameplay.

The trailer started with a cinematic of some villagers in a scenic grassland village, before suddenly a dark fog begins to wash over the area and a Nether gate opens. This causes lava pools to begin to form as a legion of piglin enemies come rushing out of the portal to attack the village. 

The trailer then shows an unnamed character on a horse riding through multiple biomes and leading some Overworld enemies like creepers, zombies, and skeletons toward the Nether portal.

After this, the trailer cuts into some gameplay, as we see a character on a horse doing some exploration, building, rallying troops, and taking part in combat. 

Minecraft Legends Gameplay

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Specific details on how the game will play are currently sparse, so we only have the reveal trailer to go off. However, the gameplay portion of the trailer seemed to illuminate some features that will set Minecraft Legends apart from other RTS games. 

The trailer describes it as an action strategy game, which aligns with the rumours from before the reveal that the game would be a real-time strategy.

While that genre may conjure images of titles like StarCraft with its top-down perspective, Minecraft Legends appears to have a third-person camera, putting you right into the action with the rest of your troops. 

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It seems like the player will be able to control the leader of the Overworld army (your character) and personally lead troops with commands, which we see an example of when they wave a flag and some mobs follow. 

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It's fair to say the biggest aspect of Minecraft is the building, and RTS games are no stranger to construction, with them often focusing on getting resources to create more buildings that provide benefits and produce more troops for battles.

The trailer showcased some building, but it seemed more in line with Minecraft, allowing the player to create their own structures which followers build for you. The building were expanded upon during the Xbox Developer Direct in January 2023.

We learned that resource scavenging, and building and upgrading your fortress is a massive part of the experience.

We also learnt that there will be online cooperative play for the campaign, along with PvP, allowing players to compete against each other online. 

Minecraft Legends Platforms 

Minecraft Legends is set to come to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It will also be released on day one for the Xbox Game Pass.