The end of Minecraft Legends? Microsoft to stop updating block-busting spin-off

January 11, 2024:

After less than a year of active production, it looks like the ender is nigh for spin-off Minecraft Dungeons with the news that the last update – Lost Legends: Snow versus Snouts is to be the final one.

A post shared today on Minecraft.net starts innocently enough with a rundown of what’s to come in the update, but it’s what is underneath that counts with a Developer Update ominously positioned at the foot of the page.

The update reads: “Since launch, we’ve been working hard together with Blackbird Interactive to bring improvements and new features to Minecraft Legends based on your feedback. With Minecraft Legends, we took a completely new approach to gameplay, so much so that we had to make up a new genre for it (kind of): action strategy. Our community has always helped us shape our games and that’s something we value greatly, especially when launching a completely new game. […]

“Since launch, we’ve listened to community feedback and implemented a series of changes and tweaks to make the game better. With that complete, we’re now going to take a step back from development. While we won’t be releasing any new content (i.e. updates, Lost Legends, or Marketplace DLC) for Minecraft Legends, the fun doesn’t stop here. We’ll continue having a blast playing the game alongside our community because those rowdy piglins are showing no signs of slowing down.

Minecraft Legends to remain fully functional

“Our existing Lost Legends challenges will remain available for free, and you’ll still be able to reap the rewards if you claim victory. We will of course continue to offer technical support to players, and we won’t be removing any functionalities or features from the game. PvP and co-op will also remain fully functional, so you can continue playing whether you prefer to take on the piglins by yourself or battle alongside (or against) friends.  

Thank you for following along this heroic journey and helping us make Minecraft Legends the game it is today.”

Unlike the news earlier about players of Kim Kardashian’s Hollywood being left high and dry after news of the game’s shutdown broke, at least Minecraft Legends will remain playable – at least for now.

When it was announced it was trumpeted as being a great mix of action strategy game and Minecraft, but while Minecraft continues as one of the best videogames ever made, it seems spin-offs do not get the same attention from the gaming public.

Paul McNally

Gaming Editor

Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title published by IDG Media.

Having spent time as Head of Communications at a professional sports club and working for high-profile charities such as the National Literacy Trust, he returned as Managing Editor in charge of large US-based technology websites in 2020.

Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Pro, Amiga Action, Mega Action, ST Action, GQ, Loaded, and the The Mirror. He has also hosted panels at retro-gaming conventions and can regularly be found guesting on gaming podcasts and Twitch shows.

Believing that the reader deserves actually to enjoy what they are reading is a big part of Paul’s ethos when it comes to gaming journalism, elevating the sites he works on above the norm. Reach out on X at @Iampaulmcnally

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