For the first time since the original, a new 'Minecraft' game is in the works - and it's arriving in 2019
- For the first time since the original "Minecraft," the series is getting a new entry.
- It's not a sequel - the game is named "Minecraft: Dungeons," and it's a dungeon crawler along the lines of "Diablo."
- "Minecraft: Dungeons" is scheduled to arrive on PC in 2019. It's not clear when it will come to other platforms.
For the first time since "Minecraft" arrived in 2011, a new entry in the series is in the works from the same studio that created the original. It's named "Minecraft: Dungeons" - it was revealed on Saturday during an annual "Minecraft" live broadcast known as Minecon Earth 2018.
From what we've seen so far, it looks like a very "Minecraft-y" version of beloved classics like "Diablo." It sounds lke that, too!
"Dungeons" is described as, "an all-new action-adventure game inspired by classic dungeon crawlers," in its announcement. Alone, or with a group of up to four friends, you'll tackle, "a ruthless swarm of new-and-nasty mobs" in a variety of locations: "canyons, swamps and - of course - mines."
The game is said to be a passion project for the folks at Mojang - the Swedish studio that was founded to create the original "Minecraft." It's the first of several new initiatives within Mojang aimed at expanding the universe of "Minecraft."
Unlike "Minecraft," the focus in "Minecraft: Dungeons" is action.
"We wanted to focus on making sure that we made the dungeon crawler part as good as possible," Mojang creative lead Jens Bergentsen told me in a phone interview last week.
To that end, don't expect to see a lot of the usual mining and crafting.
"I would say that it's a distilled version of 'Minecraft,'" Bergentsen said. "Building in the game is something that we've talked about a lot, but we were concerned that it would distract from what the game was about. So in 'Minecraft Dungeons,' it's strictly an adventure game with a story attached to it."
The game is scheduled to arrive on PC first in 2019 - a beta will precede its arrival, but don't expect anything like the soft launch "Minecraft" had. "Minecraft: Dungeons" is getting a relatively standard beta before a "traditional" release, we're told.
Check out the game's debut trailer right here: