Minecraft is keeping things fresh with a slew of new mini-games on the way, the first of which will arrive next month. ” Battle ” will be a competitive multiplayer mode where players will compete for survival in an arena area with procedurally generated chests filled with loot and weapons. According to Microsoft marketing manager Jaime Limon (via Kotaku ): ” Battle allows you to set up a competitive multiplayer fight for survival, where speed, strategy – and sometimes just pure luck – will make you the winner… Battle matches can be played with up to four players in split-screen and up to 8 players online…”
Battle will appear on all of the console versions of Minecraft . The initial update containing the new mini-game will be free, but Microsoft and Mojang have plans to release paid map packs in the future. An exact release date hasn’t been revealed, and there’s no word about Battle coming to the PC version of Minecraft . I’m assuming if you’re playing on PC, you’ve likely been playing some free mod variation of Battle for years now. Console players do seem a bit annoyed by the plan to monetize the mode so soon, but at least it’s free at the outset.