Which version of Minecraft Dungeons should you buy?
A great choice, no matter what
It's difficult for a studio to break out of its established formula, but Mojang Studios has done precisely that with aplomb. Minecraft Dungeons is packed with action and content, and it comes at a much more affordable price than many other modern games. This makes choosing between its versions a lot easier without a massive price gap between them, with options for players to test the waters before committing to the rapidly expanding pool of content available to buy.
Minecraft Dungeons is available for most modern gaming platforms, and Minecraft Dungeons can even be played on mobile devices. Across the board, your options (and the prices of those versions) are going to be pretty consistent, especially considering that Minecraft Dungeons has cross-play support across platforms.
The most straightforward way players can get into Minecraft Dungeons is through Xbox Game Pass. Available for Xbox and Windows, Xbox Game Pass includes hundreds of high-quality games (with more games added to Xbox Game Pass all the time) that gamers can play to their heart's content. Download anything, play anything, and have it all for one monthly subscription. The base version of Minecraft Dungeons is included in Xbox Game Pass, along with all its free updates, but not any of its expansions.
Players can use Xbox Game Pass to test the waters with Minecraft Dungeons before committing and then purchase any extra content or expansions at a nice discount included in Xbox Game Pass.
Even better, subscribing to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate nets you all of this, access to online multiplayer on Xbox consoles, and the ability to stream Minecraft Dungeons in its entirety to your mobile device. Take Minecraft Dungeons on the go with some of the Best Accessories for Xbox Cloud Gaming, or use Minecraft Dungeons' excellent touch controls to leave the controller and phone mount behind. Either way, Minecraft Dungeons is one of the Best Games for Xbox Cloud Gaming.
All your gaming needs, in one subscription.
Is the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate the best value in all of gaming? It's possible. Ultimate bundles your Xbox Live Gold subscription, an Xbox Game Pass subscription for both Xbox consoles and Windows PCs, and Xbox Cloud Gaming for on-the-go. That means access to Minecraft Dungeons on Xbox, Windows, and even your phone, with discounts on all its expansions and DLC.
Breaking down the versions
Minecraft Dungeons is a solid game at its core, especially with all the free updates Mojang Studios has released for it, but it also has several paid expansions that add new areas, gear, and more to the game. Players can choose to buy the base game, bundles, passes that include multiple expansions, or even purchase the expansions individually. In the end, it all depends on how much you're enjoying Minecraft Dungeons, whether or not you're looking to add more content to the base game, and which of Minecraft Dungeons' growing number of expansions appeals to you the most.
The base version of Minecraft Dungeons is incredibly affordable compared to most modern games and has received substantial post-launch support since its release in Spring 2020. Across all platforms, Minecraft Dungeons comes in at $20, which nets you the core island and all of the free updates the game has received (adding more endgame content, enchantments, new ways to obtain gear in-game, and more).
Minecraft explores the dungeons.
Minecraft Dungeons is the next saga in Minecraft's story, and Mojang Studios have knocked another one out of the park. Awesome co-op combat paired with powerful loot, all at a crazy affordable price? There's not much more you could ask for in an epic dungeon crawling ARPG.
For most players, though, the sweet spot will be with Minecraft Dungeons: Hero Edition. For $30 on every platform (although the PS4 edition can often be found for less), players will get everything Minecraft Dungeons has to offer, a handful of cosmetic items to customize their characters, and the first two expansions that launched for Minecraft Dungeons: Jungle Awakens and Creeping Winter.
For what's still half the price of most modern games, the Hero Edition of Minecraft Dungeons gives a solid amount of content that can keep you occupied for hours on end. For those who love physical discs, Minecraft Dungeons: Hero Edition is the only version of Minecraft Dungeons that comes as a physical copy. If you already own the base game or play Minecraft Dungeons through Xbox Game Pass, you can purchase the Hero Pass separately for $10. The Hero Pass includes all the additional content from the Hero Edition.
The real base version of Minecraft Dungeons.
Minecraft Dungeons has a base version, but the edition most players should be considering when purchasing Minecraft Dungeons is the Hero Edition. Minecraft Dungeons: Hero Edition includes a ton of content at a still-great price and is only getting better with time as updates are released. Players can decide if they want to take it farther with more expansions.
Finally, we come to what's decidedly the "next stage" for Minecraft Dungeons. The two expansions promised with the Hero Edition of Minecraft Dungeons have already arrived, but Mojang Studios is far from done releasing brand-new content for their dungeon-crawling ARPG. Now, players who are truly invested in getting the most out of Mojang Studios' newest game have the Minecraft Dungeons Season Pass to consider.
The Season Pass is $20 on every platform, the same price as Minecraft Dungeons by itself, so it's certainly an investment. However, the Season Pass includes the next four expansions for Minecraft Dungeons across four brand-new areas and is evident of Mojang Studios' long-term commitment to their game.
Right now, the Season Pass already includes one released expansion with Howling Peaks, which is about the same size as previous expansions that have come before it. The next expansion coming in the Season Pass is Flames of the Nether, and is nearly an entire game by itself, featuring at least twice as much content as any expansion that has come before it. The free update launching alongside Flames of the Nether will also add an astronomical amount of endgame content to Minecraft Dungeons' base version.
There are still two more expansions that have yet to be properly announced for Minecraft Dungeons' Season Pass. Still, if they're at least as big as Howling Peaks in scale, then the Season Pass will be an incredible value addition for Minecraft Dungeons and save you a pretty penny over buying the expansions separately. If you've already played Minecraft Dungeons and love what the game has to offer, the Season Pass is definitely worth your consideration.
Minecraft Dungeons is at its best when played with friends, so make sure you're able to communicate effectively and hear every word with one of the Best Headsets for Xbox Series X|S, which have been carefully selected as the best at what they do.
Explore new worlds in Minecraft Dungeons.
It's been a busy first year for Minecraft Dungeons, and now the ARPG dungeon-crawling Minecraft spin-off is looking ahead towards its future, with four new expansions planned. The first one, Howling Peaks, is available right now, but players can also grab the new Season Pass to gain immediate access to all four expansions as soon as they launch.
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