The still relatively fresh “Minecraft Legends” is halting its development. The game lasted less than a year before the lights go out.
Minecraft is one of the most successful games of all time. Over 300 million versions of Minecraft have been sold – an almost absurd success. However, attempts to make additional Minecraft spin-offs successful have repeatedly failed in recent years.
The AR game “Minecraft Earth” died back in 2021. Most recently, the development of “Minecraft Dungeons” was stopped in September 2023 – now it’s the next game’s turn.
“Minecraft Legends” will no longer receive any updates; the development has ended here as well.
What kind of game is this? Minecraft Legends can best be described as an “action-strategy” game. In the colorful “overworld” of Minecraft, you control the hero and unite various creatures – such as Creepers, Zombies, and Skeletons – to fight against the invading Piglin hordes. The hero serves as a pivot for several dozen troops that you send into battle while you advance with the sword.
Depending on the mission, it involves capturing enemy outposts or protecting the nearly defenseless villagers from enemy attacks.
In PvP, on the other hand, you have the opportunity to battle against other players and prove who is the better troop commander.
What do the developers say? In an official blog post from the developers, they discuss the last major update of the game. The many small innovations are highlighted, followed by a look back at what has happened in the months since the launch. Only in the second part, the “development update,” do they address it and explain:
Since the launch, we have listened to community feedback and implemented a number of changes to improve the game. Now that this is complete, we will withdraw from development. Although we will not be releasing new content for Minecraft Legends (such as updates, Lost Legends, or marketplace DLC), the fun doesn’t stop here. We will continue to have a lot of fun playing the game alongside our community, as those nasty Piglins show no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Christina Anderca on minecraft.net
Why is development being halted? Even though the developers do not state this clearly in their blog post, there are many indications that Minecraft Legends did not achieve the success that was once hoped for from the game.
In particular, the player numbers are quite telling. Looking at the figures on Steam, only an average of 34 players were playing the game simultaneously over the last 30 days – the daily peak was 100 players (via steamcharts.com).
For comparison: At launch in April 2023, Minecraft Legends had just over 1,000 players simultaneously, peaking at 5,000.
However, the reviews are also rather mixed, standing at “mixed.” 61% of the reviews are positive, but many are also negative.
The most common criticism: The game is simply boring and cannot hold interest for long. The campaign feels monotonous and, although it is quite short, it seems rather lengthy. The PvP, on the other hand, receives more praise, which seems to appeal to a hardcore player base.
Can you still play Minecraft Legends? Yes, the servers will remain active for the time being. All in-game content, such as the campaign, PvP, or special challenges, can still be played and completed. However, there will be no new content, so the game will remain in its current state going forward.
Have you played Minecraft Legends? Or has the game completely passed you by?
We also tested Minecraft Legends at launch – and advised against the purchase.
