For the first time since the original, a new ‘Minecraft’ game is in the works — and it’s arriving in 2019

Mojang/Microsoft

• For the first time since the original “Minecraft,” the
  series is getting a new entry.
• It’s not a sequel — the game is named “Minecraft:
  Dungeons,” and it’s a dungeon crawler along the lines of
  “Diablo.”
• “Minecraft: Dungeons” is scheduled to arrive on PC in
  2019. It’s not clear when it will come to other
  platforms.

For the first time since “Minecraft” arrived in 2011, a new entry
in the series is in the works from the same studio that created
the original. It’s named “Minecraft: Dungeons” — it was revealed
on Saturday during an annual “Minecraft” live broadcast known as
Minecon Earth 2018.

From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like a very
“Minecraft-y” version of beloved classics like “Diablo.” It
sounds lke that, too! 

“Dungeons” is described as, “an all-new action-adventure game
inspired by classic dungeon crawlers,” in its announcement.
Alone, or with a group of up to four friends, you’ll tackle, “a
ruthless swarm of new-and-nasty mobs” in a variety of locations:
“canyons, swamps and — of course — mines.” 

Like other dungeon
crawlers, “Minecraft: Dungeons” appears to feature different
classes of character to choose from — from a warrior to a mage,
and everything in between.
Mojang/Microsoft Studios

The game is said to be a passion project for the folks at Mojang
— the Swedish studio that was founded to create the original
“Minecraft.” It’s the first of several new initiatives within
Mojang aimed at expanding the universe of “Minecraft.”

Unlike “Minecraft,” the focus in “Minecraft: Dungeons” is
action. 

“We wanted to focus on making sure that we made the dungeon
crawler part as good as possible,” Mojang creative lead Jens
Bergentsen told me in a phone interview last week. 

To that end, don’t expect to see a lot of the usual mining and
crafting. 

“I would say that it’s a distilled version of ‘Minecraft,'”
Bergentsen said. “Building in the game is something that we’ve
talked about a lot, but we were concerned that it would distract
from what the game was about. So in ‘Minecraft Dungeons,’ it’s
strictly an adventure game with a story attached to it.”

The game is scheduled to arrive on PC first in 2019 — a beta will
precede its arrival, but don’t expect anything like the soft
launch “Minecraft” had. “Minecraft: Dungeons” is getting a
relatively standard beta before a “traditional” release, we’re
told. 

Check out the game’s debut trailer right here: