Minecraft Live has just wrapped up, revealing all the block-based treats that are coming to the world-conquering game in the next few months. And there was a lot more than just Minecraft Dungeons II, due out on September 29. We have word on one of the biggest changes to the game in over a decade: a whole new dimension—The Sift—arriving in both Bedrock and Java Minecraft. There will also be a whole new suite of ways to create your own content within the sandbox game, and the arrival of underground ice caves. Oh, and the main game is officially coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on October 27.
But first, it’s Dungeons II. Of the two major spin-off games from Minecraft, Minecraft Dungeons was the exceptionally good one. (Minecraft Legends was a huge whiff.) The co-op forward isometric hack-and-slash was such a surprising pleasure to play, given just how different it is from the core game beyond its distinctive art, and crucially absolutely nailed delivering a game that was rewarding for a parent to play with a child. So word of a sequel was gratefully received (in my house, at least.)
We got an extended look at how Minecraft Dungeons II will play, which remains true to the original game’s core, but with some welcome changes. We’ve got a whole new art style (it’s so much more colorful!), and obviously brand new dungeons, a whole new story themed around the Deep Dark and Ancient Cities (eek! The Warden!), and pretty importantly, it adds the ability to jump. Armor is more interesting too, split into the main game’s more traditional four pieces, as well as adding talismans for passives. The game features bigger levels, and intriguingly they’re interconnected, giving a better emphasis on exploration. The idea is to have it feel a less linear experience, letting you pick your route rather than just selection missions from the over-map.
Crossing over between Dungeons II and the main game is new dimension The Sift, the first time the game has added a whole new reality in 15 years, since The End appeared in 2011. It’s a whole other realm with its own suite of biomes, mobs and—rather vitally—brand new things for the kids to do. More on that below.
On the creative side, there was word from Jens Bergenström on how the platform is changing to make player-created content both more involved and more accessible, for both newbies and those doing it professionally.
There will also be a whole new set of sound effects packs on the Marketplace, letting players change how everything sounds in the base game, or in their own creations. All this is due later this year, but no more specific date than that. And given they’re on the Marketplace, expect to pay up.
And then it’s on to the ice caves. Look, if you’re not a regular Minecraft player, you just don’t get how important these new biome additions are. These are an extension of “cold biomes,” and will be a rare spawn in the underground of the game. These are to be ore-heavy, along with being an easy source of ice. Amidst the glowing ice crystals there’s a new mob, the frozen zombie, who lobs ice balls and if he melees you enough times he can freeze you. And of course we can throw the ice balls right back. Or at each other. Mostly at each other. They can also be used to craft freezing potions.
The ice crystals are inevitably a decorative item (I’ll just put them in frames, because that’s funnier), and work as a light source in a pinch. And if you’re a seasoned player, you’re already considering how you can farm ice zombies: you need to expose a vanilla zombie to powdered snow.
There was also some noise about the forthcoming theme park section in the UK’s Chessington World of Adventure, along with a Minecraft-themed hotel, although that’s perhaps not of huge interest to people outside of the UK.
Meanwhile, there was the news that Minecraft is finally coming to Switch 2 on October 27 (my birthday, Microsoft), with prettied up graphics more familiar to Xbox and PS5 players.
But the biggest news, although the least explained, is The Sift. After the Overworld came The Nether in 2010, then in 2011 the game got The End. Then…nothing! Nothing for so long! So The Sift’s arrival is going to be a huge deal for players.
Obviously the most important thing is it will feature blue bunnies. But there’s not a lot more detail yet. It’s interesting that it’ll appear in Minecraft Dungeons II so far ahead of the main game, where it’s not due until next year. But given how much the ores and elements of the End and Nether have changed how the game is played, this is going to be huge.
Hopefully we’ll see more of it soon.
