Mojang Studios’Minecraftremains one of the most popular games out there. It’s leaps and bounds ahead of runner-upGrand Theft Auto 5as the best-selling video game of all time, and at the end of last year it was announced thatMinecraftYouTube content has accumulated over a trillion views. This success has afforded the Swedish developer opportunities to expand the scope of its brand, including spin-off projects likeMinecraft Earth,Minecraft: Education Edition, andMinecraft Dungeons.
The action-RPGMinecraft Dungeonsnever hit the same heights of popularity as its older sibling. WhereasMinecraftis a sandbox game that excels at creating a relaxing atmosphere and opening up player creativity,Minecraft Dungeonsis a more stressful dungeon-crawler in the vein ofBlizzard’sDiablo. However, the two share voxel aesthetics in a way that make them instantly recognizable. It would be fun to see a future update improve uponDungeonsby opening the ability for players to create custom maps in the ARPG format.
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Minecraft Dungeons Updates Since Launch
The originalMinecraft Dungeonsrelease in May 2020 was generally well-received. Having it be a day-one Xbox Game Pass title was a huge boon for the multiplayer experience, though this was expected given Mojang is part of Xbox Game Studios following Microsoft’s $2.5 billion acquisition in 2014. Yet groups of friends hoping to grind out the best loot for their characters needed more to throw those characters against.
Luckily six DLC expansions released forMinecraft Dungeons, culminating with the “Echoing Void” DLC in July 2021 that focused onMinecraft’s End dimension. Alongside this cameMinecraft Dungeons: Ultimate Edition, a version of the game bundled with all six expansions for $39.99 - or as a digital upgrade for $19.99 if players owned the base game. The official blog post announcing this update promised Echoing Void would not be the end of support forDungeons.
In January 2022, Mojang followed up by releasingMinecraft Dungeons' Cloudy Climbs Adventure Pass. The Adventure Pass follows a seasonal model akin to various live-service games on the market, with Season 1 promising fans over 45 new rewards on a premium track. These include pets, skins, emotes, and capes, though it does not appear larger content dumps like traditional maps are in the cards. Instead, players gained access to the Tower, a solo roguelike activity about running through randomized floors to get new gear or enchantment points.
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Minecraft Dungeons Creative Mode Has a Lot of Potential
If the future ofMinecraft Dungeonsis more about cosmetics than it is expansive content, Mojang would be wise to lean on the creativity of its fans. One can hardly throw a stone inMinecraftsocial media forums without coming across intricate custom maps, recreations of real and video game locales alike, or other creative endeavors such as working Redstone technology. The nigh-endless possibilities for what can be done in this sandbox has even influenced live events amid the pandemic, with one recent story showcasing aSouth Korean university that held its entrance ceremony inMinecraft.
While it would be impossible to translateMinecraft’s mechanics intoMinecraft Dungeons, and vice versa, the fact they both use the same building materials suggests there could be a way to scan custom maps withinMinecraftand translate them intoARPG levelsusing player-selected enemy spawn points. Even if the ability to move pre-existing custom maps between projects is a moonshot, the idea that Mojang could launch theMinecraft Dungeonsequivalent of creative mode is an appealing way to give it indefinite content.
It’s entirely possible that Mojang wants to keepMinecraft Dungeonsseparate from the creative side ofMinecraftproper for the sake of building its own identity. There’s a fair amount of logic to this, but at the same time it’s hard to deny how well the idea of customDungeonsmaps may pan out. IfMinecraftplayers can recreate the entirety ofMajora’s Maskon a whim, there’s no telling what kind of interesting dungeon-crawlers could arise from open creative tools.
Minecraft Dungeonsis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
