Minecraft Dungeons II Is Out Now at $29.99, Included With Game Pass

Six years after the first game sent us into the Arch-Illager's dungeons, Mojang's sequel is finally here. Minecraft Dungeons II launched today, September 29, on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. It costs $29.99, or $49.99 for the Deluxe Edition, and it is included with Game Pass on Xbox, PC and cloud, with Xbox Play Anywhere covering both console and PC.

The story picks up after the first game. Strange rifts have been opening across the Overworld, mobs are being twisted by odd energies and sculk is spreading, and the culprits are the illagers again, now led by a trio Mojang calls the Illager High Council: the Prime Enchanter, the Supreme Evoker and the Grand Illusioner. You can take them on alone or with up to four players, online or in couch co-op, and the chase eventually leads into the Sift, the new dimension that Mojang has already confirmed for Minecraft Java and Bedrock in 2027.

Video: Minecraft on YouTube

A connected world instead of a mission menu

The biggest change is structural. The first game had you pick self-contained missions from a map. Dungeons II links its regions together, so you can walk from the Howling Woods to the Frozen Highlands and down to the Rainy Plains with no loading screens in between. It runs on Unreal Engine 5, and yes, your hero can finally jump.

Microsoft's own hands-on on Xbox Wire gives a good picture of the loop. Boss Totems let you restart a boss fight as many times as you like, so you can farm a boss like the Witch in the Howling Woods for loot. Rifts and Dungeons dotted across the map are optional runs full of enemies and chests, and they can drop Enchantment Books, which add abilities to your gear, and Echo Shards, which upgrade your equipment as well as the Merchants and Blacksmiths back at base. The writer said a dozen hours in they felt they had barely scratched the surface of the Overworld and the Sift.

Getting around that much space is handled with Minecart Stations and Teleport Statues for fast travel, a Guidance Trail you call up by clicking the left stick to point at your current quest, and Respawn Shrines near dungeon entrances. Die, and you wake up in the hub town of Brave Haven, then teleport straight back to the last shrine you passed.

Editions, and what we would buy

The Deluxe Edition adds four hero skins, the Soul cape, a pet called Blub and the first two DLC packs when they come out. Mojang has not dated or described those packs yet, so right now you are paying $20 extra for cosmetics plus a promise. On Steam there is a separate Deluxe Upgrade at $19.99 if you start with the standard game and change your mind later. The pre-order bonus of two hero skins, the Twisted cape and the Twisted chicken pet ended on September 28.

Mojang also says a live event is already running at launch, without giving details in its announcement, so it is worth checking the game's official social channels once you log in.

Our take: at $29.99, or free on Game Pass, this is an easy recommendation to try with friends or kids, and the move to an open, connected world answers the biggest complaint about the first game, which could feel short and menu driven. We would start with the standard edition and wait to see what the two DLC packs actually contain before paying for Deluxe.