Next month the console versions of Minecraft are getting a major free update: Battle, the first of many minigames that Microsoft says will be coming to the popular title.
In Battle, players will be dropped into a pre-created map and given a few seconds to grab a weapon from a chest before taking on the other players in a deathmatch. It is a game mode, like future minigames, inspired by some of the things players are already doing on their own.
But Battle, which is coming to all PlayStation, Xbox and Wii U versions of Minecraft, comes with the infrastructure to quickly start a competitive game for up to eight players on these pre-created maps with timers, a waiting room and randomly generated resources. The minigame also supports split-screen for up to four players.
While the game won’t support creating maps for Battle at launch, Microsoft says it will be continuing to evolve and update the minigame over time based on they community’s requests.
Battle launches with three maps for free, but Microsoft does plan on selling map packs featuring three new maps for $2.99. The company says it will also continue to add free updates with new gameplay options and features.
While Microsoft declined to discuss what other concepts it’s playing around with for Minecraft, officials did say that more minigames are inbound for the console version of the game.
Check out the video to see a Battle in action.
Source: Polygon
