Most probably can’t imagine Minecraft as anything other than a huge world full of possibilities, but there’s a chance it may become a strategy game.
It seems rather unfortunate that, in this modern era of gaming, there isn’t much room anymore for real-time strategy style titles. Games are still being made, of course, and there are many excellent RTS titles out there, but as a genre, it doesn’t seem to enjoy the limelight that it once did. It’s still holding on though, and it may even enjoy a bit of a resurgence at some point as it transpires that Minecraft may be turning into a real-time strategy game.
That’s according to ex-editor and co-founder of Giant Bomb, Jeff Gerstmann. In a recent Twitch stream, as spotted by Gaming Bolt, Gerstmann has said that the Minecraft team is currently working on an RTS spin-off. Some details suggest that it will give players the ability to control a Steve-like character or unit, and will likely involve fighting piglins and possibly other enemies. There’s also going to be some cutscenes, as well as a story element. Microsoft is also apparently testing it out, with the spin-off being developed under a codename, but obviously, if the game is real, it’s not done yet.
Given that Minecraft is one of the highest-grossing video games of all time, with a lot of longevity, many probably can’t even imagine it as anything other than a sprawling world where users can build whatever their imagination desires. At more than ten years old, some younger gamers have even grown up on it, so to see a spin-off that takes place on an isometric field, with strategy involved, may seem unusual to some. In the video below, the discussion on the RTS game begins around the 1:19:35 mark.
That said, there have been some different takes on the old format. There’s the 2020 dungeon crawler Minecraft Dungeons, not to mention Telltale Games’ Minecraft: Story Mode, which was released in 2015. While the former was well received, the latter didn’t seem to strike as big a chord. However, they both show that it is possible to take Mojang’s open-world sandbox IP and turn it into something else. Perhaps a real-time strategy game isn’t that far-fetched. However, it should be pointed out that none of this has yet been confirmed by Mojang or Microsoft.
If true, many fans will likely be interested in checking out this spin-off, whether they’re experienced with the genre or not. There are a number of RTS games that are perfect for newcomers, such as Age of Empires 2 or Halo Wars, so if a strategy version of Minecraft is on the way, then now may be a good time to get some practice in.
