Minecraft Legends Release Date and Preview: Everything We Know So Far

The Overworld is being invaded, and it needs your help! Read on to find out if Minecraft Legends will prove to be an epic adventure in our preview!

Minecraft Legends Release Date

Minecraft Legends Release Date
Pacific Standard Time (PST)	9:00 A.M. (April 18, 2023)
Eastern Standard Time (EST)	12 P.M. (April 18, 2023)
British Summer Time (BST)	5 P.M. (April 18, 2023)
Japan Standard Time (JST)	1 A.M. (April 19, 2023)

Minecraft Legends released on April 18, 2023 at noon Eastern Standard Time in the U.S. In Asia, it released on April 19, 2023 at 1 a.m. Japan Standard Time.

Everything We Know So Far About Minecraft Legends

Minecraft Legends Latest Trailer

Minecraft Legends Story Plot

In the far past, the vicious Piglins invaded the Overworld, seeking to spread the corruption of the Nether across the land. Villagers were defenseless, and the Mobs of the overworld were weak and divided. But then came a Hero with a banner that would unite them all, taking the fight to the Piglins to save the Overworld.

Developed by Mojang and Blackbird Interactive, Minecraft Legends puts you in the shoes of that very hero. Gather mobs, golems, and other allies with the Banner of Courage, and lead them in battle against the Piglin menace. Protect villages that will provide resources for the war effort, befriend mobs that will fight alongside you, and use the Allays that will build the infrastructure you need to defeat the Piglins once and for all.

The game is looking like a cross between Mount and Blade, the Total War games, and tactical third-person action games like Brothers in Arms. Based on the gameplay demos we’ve seen so far, resource gathering and building have been streamlined quite a bit compared to the original Minecraft, so there’s more emphasis on fighting and leading armies.

Minecraft Legends promises an “Epic Story” and the exploration of a “Storied Land”. Fans of Minecraft's combat and exploration should feel right at home here, as well as those looking for a fresh and entertaining perspective on the Minecraft universe.

Minecraft Legends Price and Platforms

Minecraft Legends will come out in two editions: the Standard Edition and the Deluxe Edition. The difference is that the Deluxe Edition comes with the Deluxe Skin Pack, which has one hero skin and four skins for your mount.

According to the Minecraft website, the Deluxe Skins pack will be released separately, but at $14.99. So for those who are interested in the skins, the Deluxe Edition will have a better value.

Minecraft Legends Gameplay

As shown on the Minecraft Youtube Channel, Minecraft Legends is a third-person Action Strategy game where you gather allies and pit them against the Piglins. There’s a big Overworld to explore that’s dotted with allied villages, mob habitats, and Piglin bases, and you’re supposed to defend the villages and habitats from attack at night while assaulting the Piglins by day.

The big difference between Minecraft Legends and the original Minecraft is the streamlining of both resource gathering and building. Instead of having you take care of that, the game features “Allays” which are tiny sprites that do the work for you. Once you have enough resources, you can use these Allays to build Spawners, which are structures that spawn a friendly mob that will accompany you in battle. The Allays can also put up bridges, walls, and defensive structures. So all you have to do is focus on fighting the Piglins.

Before going out to do that, though, you have to gather mobs first. There are at least two kinds of mobs: The Overworld mobs whom you’ll have to befriend before you can build their Spawners, and the Golems which are your “default” mobs. Even old enemies like the Creepers, Zombies, and Skeletons can become your allies, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. So you’ll have to decide which mob to use depending on the Piglin threat you’re facing.

Once you’ve gathered your army, you’ll have to defend villages and habitats and attack Piglin raids and bases. Fast travel is available so you can get to any location quickly and organize a defense or gather allies for a raid. In between battles, you can go to the Well of Fate, which is your headquarters. There, you can build improvements that strengthen your allies or increase how much of them you can bring into battle. Put these together, and you’ve got a vast battlefield where you have to continually strengthen your forces while keeping on the lookout for enemy attacks and planning your own.

Minecraft Legends Will Feature Online Multiplayer and Co-Op

As shown in the YouTube demo for Minecraft Legends, you can fight the Piglins alongside friends who will also have their own allies backing them up. That means you can coordinate massive assaults on Piglin bases or plan the defense of villages against Piglin attacks with multiple heroes.

Another one of the trailers shows that there will be PVP in the game, with up to 8 players that will build their own bases and summon their mobs to duke it out with the enemy.

Games That Will Come Out Alongside Minecraft Legends

Games Releasing in April	How It Matches Up With Minecraft Legends
Dead Island 2	Minecraft Legends is a more kid-friendly game with action that also lets them play with their friends. Dead Island 2 also lacks Minecraft Legends' strategy game aspect, though it has better visuals. Releases on April 21.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor	Minecraft Legends is simpler to play compared to Jedi Survivor, and is also more kid-friendly. Jedi Survivor comes out on April 28.
Honkai Star Rail	Minecraft Legends has faster action compared to Honkai Star Rail, which is a turn-based role-playing game. This game comes out on April 26.

How Minecraft Legends Matches Up to Similar Games

Games Similar to Minecraft Legends	How It Matches Up With Minecraft Legends
Minecraft	The original Minecraft will suit players who like to build peacefully, while Minecraft Legends will suit those who liked the original Minecraft's combat mechanics and want an expansion of it.
Minecraft Dungeons	Minecraft Legends plays more like a top-down Zelda game, where Minecraft Dungeons is a more tactical action game where you have to order units around a battlefield.
Mount and Blade: Bannerlord	For now, we expect Minecraft Legends to play a lot like a simpler and kid-friendlier version of Bannerlord, since you rally, organize, and order troops in both games.

Minecraft Legends Trailers

Announce Trailer (June 13, 2022)

This trailer establishes the narrative for Minecraft Legends, about how the Overworld was invaded by Piglins from the Nether. This is also where we first see the Hero, their mount, the Allays, and the different mobs you can gather to fight Piglins with. There are also the first snippets of gameplay footage showing resource gathering, building, and leading mobs into battle.

Fiery Foes Official Trailer (August 26, 2022)

Here, we see more footage of the Piglins, and gameplay where you send your mobs into battle against them. We also see more Piglin enemies, such as huge Piglins that can roll themselves into boulders.

Official Gameplay Trailer (January 26, 2023)

In this trailer, we get a glimpse of the different biomes in Minecraft Legends, such as a forest biome, a winter biome, and a tropical biome. We also see a bit of the world map, as well as the fast travel system. There’s also the gameplay footage of when a player liberates a village and assaults a Piglin base, as well as co-op gameplay.

“Uncover an Epic Story” (March 29, 2023)

Another trailer that shows off in-game cinematics of battles in the game.

“Explore a Storied Land” (April 4, 2023)

This trailer shows off more of the biomes we’ll see in the game. Aside from the forest and snow biomes, there also seems to be a rainforest biome as well.

Minecraft Legends System Requirements

For PC Players, Minecraft Legends does not seem to be a very demanding game. Since it's graphically not that different from the original Minecraft, most regular PCs should be able to run it with little hassle.

Minecraft Legends Product Information

Title	MINECRAFT LEGENDS
Release Date	April 18, 2023
Developer	Mojang Studios, Blackbird Interactive
Supported Platforms	PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One / Series S|X
Genre	Hack and Slash, Strategy
Number of Players	1-8
ESRB Rating	E
Official Website	https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/about-legends

Michael Mendoza Ab..

Reviews video games by day, tries to write novels by night. He's a sucker for open-world games (Bethesda Fallout titles, Mount and Blade Bannerlord, Grand Theft Auto), CRPGs (Planescape: Torment, Disco Elysium), and First-Person Shooters (Call of Duty, Battlefield, and immersive sims like Bioshock..