Mojang and Blackbird will stop building on Minecraft Legends

Almost a full year after release, Mojang is pulling the plug on Minecraft Legends.

The developer confirmed it'll be "taking a step back" from developing the game further. While it'll continue to receive backend support, its final content will be an in-game challenge releasing later in January.

"Thank you for following along this heroic journey and helping us make Minecraft Legends the game it is today," wrote Mojang.

Legends was co-developed by Blackbird Interactive, and is one of several offshoots of the popular creation game. Those other spinoffs, namely Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Earth, shut down three or four years post-launch.

Last year, Blackbird laid off 41 employees, and for some, their last day tomorrow (January 11). Along with those cuts, the studio canceled several unannounced projects.

Going forward, Mojang said it plans to pursue other Minecraft spinoffs and "bring new experiences" to the brand.

Before Minecraft Legends' release, Game Developer interviewed Blackbird's principal design director Craig Leigh about making the spinoff, which you can read here.