Minecraft 360 Priced and Dated as Part of XBLA’s Arcade Next Promotion

Microsoft has revealed that the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft will be available on May 9 for 1600 Microsoft Points ($20) as part of a new month long promotion called Arcade Next.

Arcade Next appears to the latest addition to the Microsoft's increasingly crowded lineup of seasonal promotions, joining Games for the Holidays, Summer of Arcade, and the XBLA House Party, the last of which just wrapped up on March 13. If they keep multiplying like this, 2013 is going to just be one big XBLA event. Hey, we're not complaining.

The promotion kicks off on April 18 with the release of Trials Evolution for 1200 MSP. The following week will see the release of Bloodforge, a dismemberment-heavy fantasy action game from Climax Studios. That's out on April 25, also for 1200 MSP. Then, on May 2, we get Fable: Heroes, a hack-and-slash spinoff of the popular Lionehead RPG series, with a pricetag of 800 MSP.

Finally, the promotion concludes on May 9 with what might be the most anticipated XBLA title ever, Minecraft. If 4J Studios' port manages to capture everything that made the PC version a smash hit, Minecraft stands a good chance of toppling Castle Crashers as the best-selling XBLA game of all time.