Set in Minecraft’s world, Minecraft Dungeons II is an action RPG that follows 2020’s Minecraft Dungeons. Mojang Studios developed it alongside Double Eleven, with Xbox Game Studios as publisher. It retains the original’s loot-focused hack-and-slash gameplay, while bringing in an open world, a jump button, and a completely new dimension: the Sift. Battle swarms of mobs, gather weapons, armor, artifacts, and talismans, and face a new enemy force putting the Overworld in danger.
Quick answer: Minecraft Dungeons II launched September 29, 2026 on Windows, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Steam. It is a dungeon crawler built around a new dimension, the Sift, with co-op for up to four players.
What Minecraft Dungeons II is
It is a top-down dungeon crawler in the style of games like Diablo, dressed in Minecraft’s blocky visuals. You pick a hero, drop into connected areas, and clear waves of enemies while picking up gear that changes how you fight. The genre and flow carry over from the original, but the structure is different this time.
The biggest structural shift is the move to an open world. Instead of selecting standalone missions from a hub, you travel freely between areas, with minecart stations acting as fast-travel points. The heroes establish a central home called Brave Haven at the start of the game, which serves as the hub you return to.
Combat and character systems were expanded as well. A jump ability is new to the series, armor is now split into four separate pieces instead of one, talismans grant passive effects, and the inventory menu was reworked. You do not need to have played the first game to follow along, though returning players will spot familiar references.
The Sift, a new dimension
The Sift is a new dimension in the Minecraft universe, and it is the first new dimension Minecraft has gained in over 14 years, following the Overworld, the Nether, and the End. In Dungeons II you reach it through rifts that open across the world and by activating a portal frame in the Deep Dark.
The Sift has a different set of rules. Its shifting tides can influence your hero and nearby allies, while dangerous new blocks change how you navigate each area. The dimension is also home to new mobs, some of which can join you and others that pose a threat. Sift souls can corrupt mobs, making them more powerful. Meadows and Carapace are among the confirmed biomes; players will have to discover the rest.
The Sift is not staying exclusive to Dungeons II. Mojang has confirmed the dimension will come to the main Minecraft game in 2027, giving players a new place to explore, survive, and build within.
The story and the new enemies
The game picks up after the first Minecraft Dungeons, during a supposed time of peace. A group of illagers discovers an underground portal to the Sift and harnesses the power of souls to become three powerful beings: the Prime Enchanter, the Grand Illusioner, and the Supreme Evoker. Together they form the Illager High Council.
Leading illagers and mobs corrupted by souls, the council rips openings between dimensions and wrecks Squid Coast, the villagers’ home. You take the role of heroes on a mission to stop the council before the Overworld and the Sift both fall apart.
Co-op options
Up to four players can team up. The game supports several forms of play so groups can mix how they connect.
- Couch co-op, with players on the same screen.
- Online co-op through cross-play across platforms.
- Mixed co-op, where two or more players on one console or PC fight alongside others online.
- Matchmaking to find allies when you do not have a group.
Playing online multiplayer on a console requires a separate online subscription for that platform, purchased separately.
Platforms and editions
Minecraft Dungeons II is available on Windows, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Steam. It is included with Game Pass, and Xbox Play Anywhere lets a single Xbox purchase carry over to both console and PC at no extra cost. Cloud play is also supported.
Two main editions are sold. The Deluxe Edition adds cosmetics and the first two DLC packs as they release.
| Edition | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $29.99 | Base game |
| Deluxe | $49.99 | Base game, 4 hero skins, Soul cape, Blub pet, DLC 1 & 2 |
ESRB has rated the game Everyone 10+. The minimum PC requirements are 64-bit Windows 10, an Intel Core i3-8100 or AMD Ryzen 3 2200G, 8 GB RAM, and a GTX 1050 or RX 560 with 2 GB VRAM. For the recommended setup, you need a Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 2600, 16 GB RAM, and a GTX 1060 or RX 580 with 6 GB VRAM.
The Hero Cape and pre-order cosmetics
The Hero Cape is a cosmetic item linking the two Dungeons titles. Play the original Minecraft Dungeons, then sign into Minecraft Dungeons II with that same Microsoft account to unlock the cape in Dungeons II and Minecraft: Java and Bedrock Edition.
Your eligibility doesn’t expire if your last session in the first game was months or years ago. It applies to play through Game Pass or Steam, provided you use the same Microsoft account. Owning either title isn’t required; signing in to join a friend’s co-op session also counts. Log into Minecraft Dungeons II by December 31, 2026 to claim the reward.
Pre-orders, which ran until September 28, 2026, granted two hero skins, the Twisted cape, and the Twisted chicken pet. Those items appear in your Microsoft account once confirmed in-game, and the Twisted cape also carries into Bedrock and Java on the same account.
How Minecraft Dungeons II was received
Reviews landed in generally favorable territory. On Metacritic, the Xbox Series X|S version holds a 75, with the PC version at 72, drawn from dozens of critic reviews. OpenCritic lists 72% of critics recommending it. User reception has been more split, with the Steam page sitting at a Mixed rating and roughly 67% of thousands of user reviews positive.
A common thread in critic write-ups is that this is a refinement rather than a reinvention. Reviewers credited the steady flow of loot, the flexible co-op, and the shift to a connected overworld as clear improvements, while noting that combat stays simple and the action can turn repetitive. Praise ran from calling it the sequel fans hoped for to describing it as a smart evolution of the original. More critical takes, including IGN’s 6/10, called it shallow and said it made poor use of Minecraft’s world.
The accolades trailer collects those reactions alongside gameplay footage of area-of-effect spells, lightning strikes, shield buffs, boss fights, and four-player battles across several biomes, closing on the tagline “Brave the Unknown.”
Taken together, Minecraft Dungeons II is a more structured, better-connected version of the original dungeon crawler, with the Sift as its headline addition and a path for that dimension to reach the main game in 2027. Whether you come in as a Diablo veteran or a newcomer, it is built to be approachable solo or with a full party.
