All the announcements from MINECRAFT LIVE: hotels, amusement parks and even a new dimension
, by Enzo
A MINECRAFT LIVE event took place today, albeit somewhat under the radar. While the franchise hasn’t really been in the spotlight for the past few years, a slew of announcements were made during the conference, and there’s something for everyone. Here are the key takeaways.
First off, the show kicked off with an in-depth presentation of Minecraft Dungeons II, a dungeon crawler spin-off of the franchise. Much to players’ delight, this sequel includes a whole host of welcome improvements.
The experience is significantly more in-depth than that of its predecessor: the addition of jumping and a bit more verticality, new weapons, new equipment categories, and even higher-level merchants. Notable additions include talismans for special effects and companions, as well as armor slots now divided into four to allow for greater customization.
After a fairly linear introductory phase, we’ll be exploring an open world. Exploration and freedom of movement are therefore at the heart of this installment. A (temporary) exclusive feature of this game: rifts can appear and teleport players to never-before-seen biomes. DLCs featuring exclusive areas are already in the works, just as they were in the first game.
Next up, news about Minecraft World, the franchise’s theme park. Located in London, it is still scheduled to open in 2027. The very first Minecraft roller coaster has been officially announced and will be called Escape the Nether.
That’s not all! The conference presenters also showed the Minecraft Hotel, which will be located within the park complex. Like many theme parks around the world, this hotel complex will offer a unique immersion into the Minecraft universe, for the enjoyment of young and old alike.
Some news regarding the game Minecraft has been announced. A brand-new biome called Ice Caves is coming in 2027. It’s an underground ecosystem filled with caverns, icefalls, stalactites, and even lava lakes.
Ice crystals grow there, similar to amethyst crystals. The stalactites will fall if exposed to too much light, so you’ll need to be careful where you place torches while exploring.
A new type of zombie has also makes its debut: the icy version, which deals damage and slows the player on contact. Some are even equipped with snowballs, so they can attack from a distance to knock the player off balance. Watch out for falls! What's more, an icy potion has also been added to the list of available crafts.
They’ve also announced that sound packs are coming to the game. You’ll finally be able to customize this aspect of the game with lots of fun, or even scary, sound effects thanks to these packs, which will be available on the Minecraft Marketplace.
Finally, the last, and by no means least, new feature: the rifts in Minecraft Dungeons II lead to a dimension called The Sift. This is actually a sneak peek, since this dimension is scheduled to be coming to Minecraft (both Java & Bedrock) as early as 2027. This is the highly anticipated fourth dimension for the game, the last one added being The END a… whopping 14 years ago.
This concludes the summary of the key information shared during the conference. For those interested, you can watch the VOD for MINECRAFT LIVE via the video below.