In 2023, Mojang Studios released a new game in theMinecraftseries calledMinecraft Legends. Developed in collaboration with Blackbird Interactive, the studio behindHardspace: ShipbreakerandHomeworld 3, this game was intended to be a more beginner-friendly alternative to the real-time strategy genre.Minecraft Legendsfeatures a unique blend of action-oriented gameplay and RTS combat. Much like in the cult classic Double Fine game,Brutal Legend, players control a group ofMinecraftmobs, which they command to attack the piglin armies and defend their villages from raids. UnlikeMinecraft, the game has a story mode, which is roughly 10 hours long.
Despite its relatively novel concept,Minecraft Legendswasn’t able to attract the attention of mainstream audiences; the game received middling reviews and a tepid response from the overallMinecraftcommunity. While some praisedMinecraft Legendsfor its gameplay loop, others criticized it for being too repetitive and lacking in content.Support forMinecraft Legendssadly endedon July 17, 2025, less than a year after it initially came out. Even though the game wasn’t a big success, its failure shouldn’t discourage Mojang and Microsoft from making moreMinecraftspin-offs in the future.
Minecraft Legends is One of Many Minecraft Spin-Offs that Have Underperformed
Most of Mojang’s Attempts to Expand the Minecraft IP Have Failed So Far
Minecraftis one of the most popular IPs on the planet, and yet, for some reason, the series hasn’t really found success beyond its first installment. FollowingMinecraft’s initial release in 2011, Mojang has attempted to make spin-offs of the game on multiple occasions. The firstspin-off the company ever worked on was 2015’sMinecraft: Story Mode. Createdprimarily by Telltale Games,Minecraft: Story Modewas an episodic, narrative-driven adventure game in the vein ofTelltale’s The Walking DeadandThe Wolf Among Us, albeit more family-friendly.Minecraft: Story Modewas released in two seasons, the second of which came out in 2017. Both seasons got lukewarm receptions, and were widely regarded as some of Telltale’s lesser works.
A few years after the release ofMinecraft: Story Mode, Mojang launched anotherMinecraftspin-off calledMinecraft Earth. Since it required players to go outside in order to play it, this augmented reality mobile game was regarded as Mojang’s answer toPokemon GO. Initial impressions ofMinecraft Earthwere somewhat negative, due to its excessive use of microtransactions and limited post-launch support. This, coupled with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,led toMinecraft Earth’s untimely demise. The game was shuttered just two years after it debuted and is no longer playable.
Perhaps the onlyMinecraftspin-off that actually became successful wasMinecraft Dungeons. LikeMinecraft Legends, this game was designed to be a more approachable version ofaDiablo-style dungeon crawler.Minecraft Dungeonswas positively reviewed by fans and, although it did receive 6 DLCs and even an arcade port, Mojang ended support for the game in October 2023, roughly three years after it was launched.
Minecraft Legends' Failure Can Be Attributed to Other Reasons Beyond a Lack of Demand
The failure of theseMinecraftspin-offs doesn’t necessarily mean that gamers don’t want moreMinecraftgames. Rather, the underwhelming commercial performance of these titles can be attributed to other factors, like their overall lack of quality and limited post-launch support. Mojang has never really stuck withaMinecraftspin-offfor more than a few years and given it the attention it deserves. Even when a spin-off does well, like inMinecraft Dungeons' case, the company has often abandoned it shortly after its release. If Mojang really wants to make moreMinecraftgames in other genres, it should ensure that they are high quality and supported for as long as the mainMinecraftgame. AMinecraft3D platformer, third-person shooter, or puzzle game that meets these criteria could do a lot better thanMinecraft Legendsin the long run.
