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Wait, what? Minecraft 2023? What is this, the retro corner? But wait! There's a good reason why we've decided now was the right time to start discussing this game, of all things: it has virtually no competition, even today. When you think about it, this once-small, once-scrappy, Mojang Studios sandbox is yet to be superseded in any meaningful way. In fact, it only got better once Microsoft and Xbox took hold of it, with the introduction of the Minecraft Launcher as your one-stop portal into the Minecraft universe, and the multiplatform Minecraft: Bedrock Edition through which you can join the live event server to vote for new mobs, for example.
Over the next couple of paragraphs, we'd like to introduce you to the concept of Minecraft as it currently exists, far beyond the scope of its once-humble Bedrock-tier beginnings. Whether you've already had your fair share of the gargantuan franchise or, perhaps, you're just about to dip your toes in for the first time, this feature will give you all the context you need to make the most of your experience. So, let's get started!
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Minecraft 2023: It's Better Than Ever Before
Many a game has been ruined through the progression of its live-service feature bloat. It's all too easy to take a profitable, yet relatively simple product that knows what it's trying to do and turn it into something it's decidedly not. By focusing on specific features and a slow, steady build-up of cohesive content, Mojang Studios has successfully turned the biggest game in the world into something truly special under Microsoft's umbrella.
For those who are so inclined, there's a delightful Minecraft content timeline to peruse. The TL;DR of it all is that content is coming in at a methodical and deliberate pace specifically to maintain a steady sandbox for the base game experience. The thing about Minecraft is that it specifically has no need to change because it's driven almost entirely by its community and the players themselves, with the Minecraft mob vote, for example, where you can vote for a new mob from the live event server within Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, on the Minecraft launcher, or the game's official website. This year's mob vote will allow the community to choose the new mob that developers will create for the next major update. Knowing how to vote in this year's Minecraft Live mob vote is the easy bit, however. I'm afraid to say that we can't help with the difficult decision of which new mobs to vote for!
As you can see, it really doesn't matter whether you're a total newcomer to this community or if you've, perhaps, been away for a long while, there are so many ways to get involved. And who doesn't like a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt?!
Really, playing Minecraft is just like riding a bicycle: you can't forget the basics no matter how hard you try! It's been over a decade since it first came out in its rough-and-tumble form, and in 2023, it's a sleek, delightful experience that'll easily keep you busy for hundreds of hours on end.
Start playing Minecraft with millions of other players on the cheap via the Xbox Game Pass!
There's Just No Competition
While there certainly were a few competitors to Minecraft back in the day, suffice it to say that none of them have held up to the test of time. Whether it's the Adventure Mode that draws you in or if, perhaps, you're happy to build houses and whatnot in Creative Mode, Minecraft does it all. Time and again, people have highlighted player creations in Minecraft, to the point where it's ridiculously hard to keep up with all the awesome builds that players keep making. And, really, you too could very well join them, starting perhaps with voting for a new mob?!
Easy to pick up and satisfying to play, Minecraft has kept up where its competitors have not simply because it's uniquely appealing. It's the one platform where creativity and ingenuity really are all that matters. The game can be as hard or as easy as you want it to be, all in the service of empowering you, the player. Whatever it is that you want to do, Minecraft lets you do it. For some players, that may mean building immense superstructures! Others, however, may be more interested in setting up cozy hidey holes all over the place or partaking in a scavenger hunt.
Few other games go even remotely as far to support player expression and creativity as Minecraft does. This has always been the case, and the content that's been added by 2023, including fun mini-games and the regular Minecraft mob vote (go to the Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, the Minecraft launcher, or the game's official website to see the results of this year's mob vote and the new mobs created as a result), simply underlines this notion.
More Mods Than You Could Shake a Stick At
Here's the truly big draw to playing Minecraft in 2023, though: community mods. For over a decade, this game's modding scene has proliferated to the point where it far outpaces almost any other modding community. Heck, we'd even go so far as to suggest that Minecraft modding is bigger than Bethesda game modding at this point! Gameplay enhancements and tiny quality-of-life fixes are just the start of it. Wanna add Pokemon to the game? How about a whole ecosystem's worth of extra animals? Graphics upgrades? Bikes? The world is, quite literally, your oyster. What will be the next major update by the modding community?
Now, you're going to want to stay tuned: we're going to have our own Minecraft must-have mod list ready soon! In the interim, if you just have to get started with modding as soon as possible, be sure to peruse the following sources:
On the off chance that baseline Minecraft doesn't give you what you need, mods will absolutely solve that issue. Do not sleep on this aspect of the game, either: it's a natural expansion of the core gameplay systems already present in Minecraft in the first place! Again, you can check out the Minecraft Launcher for access to all aspects of the Minecraft universe.
What Are You Waiting For?
The editorial team here at 2Game often loves to say that a given game might not be for everyone. And, really, that's often the case. Heck, that's usually always the case. Minecraft, however, truly is a game that anyone could play, and everyone ought to give it a shot. It's universally amusing and infinitely engaging. And, look, if you enjoy the aesthetic but not the gameplay, its offshoots help in that regard, too! And it's definitely worth checking out the multiplatform Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, especially when it's time to vote for your new mobs!
We recommend giving Minecraft a shot through the Xbox Game Pass subscription offerings. Not only does subscribing to Game Pass give you a huge array of other games to play, but it also includes Minecraft: Dungeons and the upcoming Minecraft: Legends, a hack 'n' slash RPG, and a real-time strategy game, respectively.
This makes Game Pass the universal option for those who are ready to jump into Minecraft as a whole, but might not be eager to spend a load of money all at once. Stay tuned for heaps more Minecraft content right here at 2Game, but in the interim, definitely give it a shot in its current form!
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