Minecraft Blast, a mobile tile-matching game developed by Mojang Studios together with King (the makers of Candy Crush Saga), is entering its next testing phase. Starting October 12, 2026, a time-limited playtest covers Canada and Australia, joining Malaysia, where the project has been tested since November 2025. It's the game's first move into Western markets and another step in Mojang's plan to reach players beyond the classic Java and Bedrock editions.

Puzzles set in a blocky world

Minecraft Blast combines match-3 mechanics with building and themes taken from the world of Minecraft. You match blocks in rows, unlock new locations and place your own structures in a style familiar from the main game, but in a much more casual, mobile-friendly format. The game is free with optional microtransactions, and it's available on iOS, iPadOS and Android. According to PocketGamer.biz, the production went by the internal codename Project Diamonds before its final title was revealed.

Three waves of testing

The first playtest started in November 2025 in Malaysia on iOS devices and included three chapters with around 230 levels. The second, held there as well in late September and early October 2026, grew to seven chapters and around 500 levels, with every level redesigned based on lessons from the first round. The third phase, the current one, is the first testing outside Asia: time-limited access in Canada and Australia on iOS and Android, lasting three to four weeks.

  • Test 1 (November 2025, Malaysia): 3 chapters, around 230 levels, iOS only
  • Test 2 (September-October 2026, Malaysia): 7 chapters, around 500 levels, microtransactions and themed blockers
  • Test 3 (October 2026, Canada and Australia): limited access on iOS and Android, 3-4 weeks

Who it's for: parents vs. kids

Magnus Nedfors of Mojang Studios explains in an interview with PocketGamer.biz that Blast is meant for a different audience than the main game. "In my head I picture this game as a bit older, it's a game for parents, while pure Minecraft can be a game for kids," says Nedfors. He also adds that the whole team "wants to expand Minecraft's reach into new areas and make games that will reach a very broad audience." This fits Mojang's strategy of recent years: after Minecraft Legends and Minecraft Dungeons, the brand is again looking for a format that will attract players who haven't been drawn in by classic servers or survival building.

Worth noting: the tests don't include Poland, so Polish players who want to try Blast have to use a VPN for now or wait for a wider launch. For comparison, the full versions of the game are still available to download via the Minecraft Bedrock Edition page, while Blast remains a separate, additional product, independent of the main update cycle.

King and Mojang: two worlds combined

The partnership between the studios wasn't obvious from the start. Nedfors recalls that when Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, King's owner, Mojang quickly reached out to talk: "The acquisition took quite a while for various reasons, but when it was about to happen, we thought: the day it happens, we want to talk to King." Both companies now operate under the same Xbox corporate roof, which made it easier to combine King's experience in casual game design with the Minecraft universe.

King's Gavin Lammin stresses that the brand alone isn't enough for a product to succeed. "The IP helps in that area, but the IP alone doesn't decide a product's success," says Lammin. He also describes the philosophy behind level design: "We feel that when we give the player agency, the whole experience becomes much more satisfying." According to him, the main metrics tracked during testing are retention, in-app purchases and the effectiveness of acquiring new users, standard indicators for free-to-play mobile games.

What's next for Minecraft Blast

For now, Mojang and King haven't announced a date for a full global launch. The game remains in limited regional testing, and each new round adds markets and features, so the three to four weeks of testing in Canada and Australia may end with another stage of development rather than a worldwide release. The developers say they want to see how the game performs outside Asia before deciding on a wider rollout. If you want to follow the project's progress, you can check the minecraft.pl news page and visit the Minecraft wiki, where the community documents the details of Blast's successive test versions.

Sources