There's no other game quite like Minecraft. Despite releasing in 2011, almost 12 years ago now, Minecraft has remained one of the most popular games ever created, and it shows absolutely no signs of stopping. While other pioneers in the gaming industry have had their successful formula copied relentlessly until it simply becomes a new sub-genre, Minecraft has never really faced any significant competition, and that's because it's simply the best at what it does. With continued updates, it's stayed that way for over a decade.
Over the last 12 years, there have been countless Minecraft updates, with each one adding new mechanics, blocks, biomes, mobs, and more. With each new update, Minecraft gets even better, and the game's player-base is given even more reason to hang around for a bit longer. If Minecraft's history of updates is anything to go by, then that could mean great things for the upcoming spinoff Minecraft Legends.
Minecraft Legends Has Plenty To Draw From When It Comes to DLC
Minecraft has seen a vast number of updates come to the game since its launch in 2011. One of the first major updates was the Redstone Update in March 2013, adding a slew of Redstone blocks and gadgets that became immediate staples of the game. 2019's Village and Pillage update gave the game's iconic Villagers a much-needed overhaul while also adding in some new mobs and plenty of new blocks. 2020's Nether Update added in a wealth of new content for the game's classic Nether world. Each and every Minecraft update has made the game bigger and better, and Minecraft Legends may end up following suit.
The upcoming Minecraft Legends is taking the franchise in a new direction, swapping out the calm, creative vibes for intense action-strategy gameplay. Minecraft Legends already looks packed to the brim with content, with tons of enemy and friendly mobs, plenty of build options, dedicated co-op gameplay, and a handful of different biomes. However, there's always room for more content, and it already has some great foundations to draw inspiration from.
When looking to future DLC, Minecraft Legends simply needs to look to vanilla Minecraft for inspiration. Though not all details have been revealed yet, it's likely that Minecraft Legends doesn't feature every single mob or biome currently present in vanilla Minecraft. For future DLC packs, Minecraft Legends simply needs to bring over those assets. Of course, any assets brought over from vanilla Minecraft will need to be tweaked to work with Minecraft Legends' action-strategy gameplay, but the groundwork is already there.
If Minecraft Legends is popular enough, then it could even receive updates alongside vanilla Minecraft, with the content from one bleeding over into the other. For example, Minecraft's upcoming 1.20 update is set to add a number of new features to the game, including new ridable camels, and a new cherry tree-dominated biome. It would be great to see these elements also come to Minecraft Legends at the same time as vanilla Minecraft, making the game feel more like a natural extension of the original game than a completely separate spinoff.
This type of synergy between games would only help to increase the popularity of both entries, though before any of this happens, Minecraft Legends will need to be popular enough to begin with. It's unlikely to get DLC in any capacity if it ends up being a commercial disappointment. Still, with the sheer popularity of the Minecraft brand and the recent trailers raising fan expectations, it seems safe to assume that Minecraft Legends will do fairly well on launch.
Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
