Over 12 years after its release in November 2011, Minecraft remains one of the most popular and iconic games in the world. Given Minecraft’s longevity, it may come as a shock to players that Minecraft Legends, a real time action-strategy spin-off of the classic sandbox game, will no longer be updated only 9 months after its release in April 2023.
In a blog post on January 10, Mojang announced the addition of the 9th and final Lost Legend, Snow vs. Snouts, along with the ending of development for Legends. Adding a powered-up version of the Redstone Launcher, Snow vs. Snouts introduces a brand new challenge to the game: being unable to control mobs or build structures. Although the game will remain available for purchase, no more updates, DLC or new content will be added from here on out.
Minecraft’s popularity has only grown throughout the years, with 180 million players active within the last 30 days. Part of this success can be attributed to the highly active and vibrant Minecraft YouTube community, as well as seeing a massive influx in players during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minecraft’s dungeon crawler spin-off, Minecraft Dungeons was released in May 2020 with updates ending in September 2023, over 3 years after its release. Although Dungeons was criticised for its short story, many praised it as a fun multiplayer experience. When Minecraft Legends was first announced in June 2022, players were excited and hopeful to experience the game, which promised brand-new features such as recruiting typically hostile mobs like skeletons and zombies to your army. Moreover, the beautiful graphics showcased in the trailer had fans excited to experience the classic look of Minecraft with a fresh coat of paint.
However, although the graphics and visuals of Legends met expectations, players were disappointed with the games’ lack of variety, repetitive gameplay and lack of strategic depth. Although Mojang did not cite the small player base and negative feedback as a reason for Legends’ discontinuation, the abundance of negative reviews on Steam coupled with refunds may have contributed to its early discontinuation.