When Minecraft first broke on the scene, its concept was pretty hard to sell to people. It's a game without a clear objective, unimpressive graphics, and it basically throws players into the wild – expecting them to figure out how to survive and craft new items on their own. Evidently, it was unusual at the time of its release. Of course, it has since become one of the most popular video games in the world, constantly topping sales charts, and influencing countless games since, but there's still some players that scratch their head at Minecraft's popularity. Now, picture trying explaining just what Minecraft: Story Mode is to those people.

Minecraft: Story Mode is the next adventure game series from Telltale Games, tasking players with making tough choices that will alter the course of the story. Considering the gameplay style of Minecraft, Minecraft: Story Mode is probably the last game that anyone expected Telltale to translate into one of their adventure game titles, but the reveal trailer that premiered at MineCon 2015 definitely left fans excited. Now we know exactly when we'll be able to get our hands on the first episode of the game, The Order of the Stone.

The first episode of Minecraft: Story Mode will be available on the digital storefronts of the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One starting October 13th. Those that wish to play the game on iOS or Android mobile devices will have to wait a couple more days, as the game will be available to purchase for those gamers on October 15th. A Wii U version, as well as a PlayStation Vita version are planned as well, but they currently lack any release dates, and likely won't come until a bit later in the game's season.

A physical disc version of the first episode of Minecraft: Story Mode will come a couple of weeks later, on October 27th. Telltale is referring to this physical release as a "season pass disc", and will grant owners automatic access to future episodes that are released during the game's season. Telltale has previously released retail discs for their episodic games only after the season has concluded, so it will be interesting to see if Minecraft: Story Mode will mark the beginning of a new trend for them, and if we'll see their future games like The Walking Dead: Season 3 have a season pass disc as well.

Chances are, if the disc version of Minecraft: Story Mode sells well, that's exactly what we'll see happen, and considering the success of the franchise, we have no doubt that Minecraft: Story Mode will fly off store shelves. It will help that it's a Minecraft game developed by the acclaimed developers at Telltale, and its celebrity cast (along with it being the first Telltale game that allows players to choose the gender of the main character) should also help its sales quite nicely. All things considered, it could be the most successful episodic adventure game from Telltale since The Walking Dead.

The digital version of The Order of the Stone, the first episode of Minecraft: Story Mode, will release October 13th. Android and iOS users will have a chance to download the game on October 15th, and those that prefer a physical disc can pick it up a couple of weeks later on October 27th.

Source: IGN