Hi everyone! Team Minecraft at Mojang, 4J Studios and Microsoft have been working on some cool free content for Minecraft: Console Edition — and we’re really excited to introduce minigames to you today.

Of course, coming up with improvised rules and new ways to play with friends are already popular activities among Minecraft: Console Edition players (and long may it continue)! But our new minigames help you quickly and easily jump into competitions with tailor-made rulesets. You can have fun straightaway without having to fuss around with manual countdowns, laborious loot chest prep or keeping score.

Sound good? Great – you won’t have to wait very long for this to come out, so get your enchanted fishing poles ready. The first minigame, Battle, hits PlayStation Store next month.

Battle allows you to set up a competitive multiplayer fight for survival, where speed, strategy (and sometimes pure luck) lead you to victory. Players in Battle matches use randomly generated resources from chests located in specially-designed PVP maps to combat one another in a free-for-all deathmatch until the final victor is determined. But the fun doesn’t end after defeat; fallen players can spectate the combat among remaining players in the match by flying freely around each arena as a bat.

Battle matches can be played with up to four players in split-screen and up to 8 players online (4 players on PS Vita). Play with friends or find other community members to join your game via an in-game matchmaking system.

Free for all owners of Minecraft on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita, Battle rolls out in June via game update, along with three maps for you to try out. If you like Battle and want more, we’ll be supporting it with additional Map Pack add-ons periodically after release for $2.99 USD or local equivalent.

See you in the arena!