Observed Signal · Oct 6, 2026 · Product Update · Source: PocketGamer.biz · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Minecraft Blast Expands Testing to Canada and Australia
King and Mojang are expanding the testing phase of their collaborative mobile puzzle game, Minecraft Blast, to Western markets. Starting in October, players in Canada and Australia will get limited-time access to the game on iOS and Android. This follows earlier tests in Malaysia, where the game saw two iterations. The development team, led by King's executive producer Gavin Lammin and Mojang's creative director Magnus Nedfors, aims to attract new and lapsed Minecraft fans. The game combines blast-style puzzle mechanics with a building meta, leveraging the Minecraft IP and King's expertise in casual gaming. The testing focuses on retention, purchases, and user acquisition, with a full global launch still far off.
This news is relevant to the mobile gaming and ad-supported free-to-play market. The expansion of testing for a high-profile IP like Minecraft into Western markets indicates a strategic move by King and Mojang to capture a broader audience, potentially impacting mobile ad inventory and user acquisition trends.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Minecraft Blast will expand testing to Canada and Australia in October 2026.
- The game is a collaboration between King and Mojang, combining blast puzzle gameplay with building mechanics.
- The first test was held in Malaysia in November 2025, with a second test following nearly a year later.
- The current test in Canada and Australia will be a limited-time playtest lasting three to four weeks.
- The collaboration began after Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which included King.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“Mojang, the owner of the Minecraft IP, is overseeing the game's design to ensure it fits the brand....”
“King, known for Candy Crush, is co-developing Minecraft Blast with Mojang, bringing its mobile expertise....”
“Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard facilitated the collaboration between King and Mojang....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
King's Minecraft Blast returns in soft launch
King has returned its Minecraft Blast match-3 puzzle game to soft launch, now available on Google Play in Malaysia. The updated version features new game assets, a new trailer, and an expanded feature set including six new blockers, four new chapters, daily play rewards, a new Raid Tournament, a weekly leaderboard, and a customizable companion system. The game is a spin-off of Minecraft, developed in collaboration with Mojang Studios. It was previously soft launched on iOS in Malaysia and Canada in November 2025, but was removed from testing a month later. The new build shows significantly updated graphics and a new store description, emphasizing world-building and customization elements. This move indicates King's continued investment in the franchise, aiming to capture the mobile puzzle audience with a familiar IP.
Block Blast! Goes Ad-Free on Apple Arcade
Hungry Studio’s Block Blast will arrive on Apple Arcade as Block Blast+ on September 3, 2026, offered ad-free and without in-app purchases via Apple’s $6.99/month Arcade subscription (or Apple One bundles). The Tetris-like puzzler has amassed hundreds of millions of installs — Appfigures estimates ~725M and other sources ~868M lifetime — while AppMagic estimated ~368M downloads in 2025. Hungry Studio reported roughly 70M daily and 300M monthly average users in early 2026, and Apple flagged it as the most-downloaded free iPhone game in 2025. Outside Arcade the title remains a free, ad-supported game with negligible IAP revenue and large audiences across Indonesia, the US, Vietnam, Brazil and India. Several other free-to-play titles will also join Arcade on September 3 with ads and IAPs removed.
Weekly new-game digest: multiple mobile launches
A mobile games digest lists recent and upcoming global releases, soft launches and tests. Highlights include The Walking Dead: Aftermath launching on iOS and Android on July 16; Phantom Tower releasing July 13 on PC and mobile with cross‑progression; Bleach Mirrors High opening closed-test signups (deadline July 13) with a test starting July 22 in multiple languages; Rust Mobile entering a second beta test with global launch date TBD; and Gangster Mirage City entering a soft launch in the Philippines. The piece also notes new Apple Arcade additions (Family Feud Pocket, Creatures of the Deep+, Pocket City 2+, Dungeon Clawler+, Draw It+), and mentions several developers and publishers active in early testing and soft launches.
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