Minecraft Dungeons II, often written Minecraft Dungeons 2, came out on September 29, 2026 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, and is included with Game Pass. Until October 14 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, watching a reward-enabled Dungeons II stream for 15 minutes on Twitch or 3 minutes on TikTok earns a code for the free Aurora Cape in Minecraft, to redeem by October 31. The game costs $29.99, or $49.99 for the Deluxe Edition; critics rate it 75 out of 100, while Steam players are more divided.
The free Aurora Cape, and the other capes
The Aurora Cape is Mojang's launch gift for Minecraft Java and Bedrock, not for Dungeons II: watch a reward-enabled Dungeons II livestream for 15 minutes on Twitch or 3 minutes on TikTok by October 14 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, then redeem the code at minecraft.net/redeem by October 31. The steps, the deadline in your time zone and every other cape, from the Hero Cape for players of the first Minecraft Dungeons to the Twisted Cape of the pre-orders, are in our guide to every Minecraft cape, and where to enter each kind of code is in our guide to redeeming Minecraft codes.
Reviews and launch issues
As of October 6, critics give Dungeons II a 75 average on OpenCritic, where 68% of 47 critics recommend it, and a Metascore of 75. Steam users are cooler: 63% of about 8,500 reviews are positive, a Mixed rating. On Steam alone, the game peaked at 32,556 players at once on launch day, according to TechPowerUp and the tracker Megalode; Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and Game Pass players are not in that count.
The worst launch issue hit Steam Deck and other SteamOS or Linux PCs, where the Steam version would not start. Mojang's October 1 update made it playable on Steam Deck, though some issues may remain, such as the on-screen keyboard, and more work is planned toward full Steam Deck verification. The same day, Mojang raised the emerald cap from 9,999 to 99,999 on every platform, with no download needed. On PC, TheSixthAxis also points to complaints about the lack of WASD movement and separate online and offline saves.
On PC, Dungeons II is sold on the Xbox app and Steam. It is included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, streams through Xbox Cloud Gaming for Game Pass members, and Xbox Play Anywhere covers Xbox and PC with one purchase. The ESRB rates it E10+. On Steam, it lists 17 languages, nine of them fully voiced, and needs at least a Core i3-8100 or Ryzen 3 2200G, 8 GB of RAM and a GTX 1050 or RX 560.
On Steam in the US, as on the Xbox and PlayStation stores, the Standard Edition costs $29.99 and the Deluxe Edition $49.99 (Steam prices checked on October 6). The Deluxe adds the Soul Cape, the Blub pet, four hero skins (dark-gold versions of the heroes Valorie, Kellen, Ren and Flores) and the first two DLCs as they are released; their content and dates are not announced yet. The pre-order bonuses, Steve and Alex hero skins, the Twisted Cape and the Twisted Chicken pet, ended with pre-orders on September 28.
What kind of game it is
Dungeons II is an action RPG ("drop the pickaxe, grab a sword", says its store page): you fight hordes of mobs and bosses, collect loot and shape your hero through gear, from mage or ranger to tank or support. Instead of the first game's separate missions, the sequel is one interconnected world with settlements, fast-travel points, and caves and ruins whose layouts can vary between visits. The hub town is Brave Haven, and minecarts carry you across the map.
The main changes:
- Jumping, on top of the dodge roll, to explore and strike from above.
- 12 combat slots instead of 6: armour splits into helmet, chestplate, leggings and boots, and talismans add passive bonuses. Items can roll random effects, and ranged ammo is unlimited, recharging over time.
- Enchanting: enchantment books fill a personal library, and the Enchantsmith applies them to any gear slot. The Blacksmith raises a favourite item to the best power level available to you, for a fee, and can reroll one of its bonuses.
- Quests, main and side, from a beekeeper's missing bees to the Twisted Warden.
The illagers are back, led by an Illager High Council of three, the Prime Enchanter, the Supreme Evoker and the Grand Illusioner, while the world's ecosystem is out of balance. The gamescom demo in August featured a new boss, the Copper Monstrosity, mixing heavy punches with lightning attacks and arena-wide dashes.
Co-op for up to four players
The whole adventure can be played solo or with up to four players:
- couch co-op on one screen;
- online, with cross-play between platforms;
- mixed, with two or more players on one console or PC joined by others online;
- through matchmaking, or with party codes to bring in friends.
The world map can teleport you to a nearby friend, and holding up on the D-pad opens a small inventory, so couch players swap gear without making everyone wait. Online play on consoles requires Game Pass on Xbox and PlayStation Plus on PS5.
The Sift: a new dimension, in Dungeons II first
Rifts open across the world of Dungeons II and lead to the Sift. Revealed in August and detailed at Minecraft Live on September 26, it is the first new dimension in more than 14 years, and the fourth after the Overworld, the Nether and the End.
Mojang describes a vibrant, colourful place "teeming with souls". Its mobs include companions as well as threats, shifting tides can affect you and the players around you, and hazardous new blocks change how you explore. Two of its areas are named, the Meadow and the Carapace; the others are kept secret.
In Minecraft Java and Bedrock, the Sift arrives in 2027. Mojang has not given a date, nor said how you will reach it or how it will differ from the Dungeons II version; Minecraft Live only showed a brief in-development look at it and one of its mobs.
Until then, Xbox Wire calls Dungeons II the best sneak peek at the Sift's mobs, blocks and biomes. Minecraft's own next drop brings ice caves and the Frostbite, a zombie that freezes you: see our ice caves guide, and our Minecraft Live recap for the rest of the show. In Minecraft itself, our crafting recipes, seed map and advancements checklist cover today's game.
