In 2012, the hottest thing in PC gaming was DayZ, a zombie survival mod where other players were scarier than the zombies. Within months, a Minecraft server had rebuilt it in blocks. MineZ was, in Shotbow's own words, "one of the first vanilla Minecraft servers taking the core game that everyone knew and loved, and putting a spin on it that had never been seen before." Eurogamer's verdict at the time was that "it works like DayZ and it plays like DayZ, but most importantly... it's better than DayZ."
How MineZ plays
You spawn on the southern coast of a huge custom map with nothing. Towns to the north hold loot, zombies and, worse, other players. Water is a resource. Bandits camp the good towns. The further north you go, the better the gear and the nastier the dungeons, until you reach the end-game locations that only organized groups clear. Death sends you back to the coast with nothing, which is what makes a full backpack feel like an achievement.
Zombies that hunt in packs, custom items, legendary weapons in dungeons, and a map designed by hand rather than generated.
Shotbow's other games, Annihilation above all, built a competitive scene of their own. The network still runs several modes.
Shotbow publishes a MineZ modpack on Modrinth for the new version's resource pack and client tweaks.
Rebirth
MineZ stayed on 1.12.2 for nearly a decade, partly because its combat and map were tuned for it. On August 22, 2026, Shotbow put MineZ: Rebirth, the 1.21 update, on its public test realm, and the MOTD our pinger sees now reads "MineZ - Rebirth 1.21 PTR LIVE." It's the biggest change the game has had, and a chance to see a 2012 classic with fourteen years of hindsight applied.
Shotbow forms. MineZ launches the same year and becomes the network's signature.
Annihilation, Wasted and other modes arrive. MineZ 2 is attempted. The original stays the crowd favorite.
MineZ settles on Minecraft 1.12, where it will stay for nine years.
MineZ: Rebirth, the 1.21 update, opens on the PTR.
Where the network stands right now:
Live from our pinger · checked 2 min ago
Surviving your first life
Join with 1.12.2 for classic MineZ or a 1.21 client for the Rebirth PTR (check the MOTD). Get a water bottle before anything else. Avoid the first towns at night, travel with the road but not on it, and assume every player is hostile until they type otherwise. Most are.
For a zombie server built around a TV show instead, read The Mining Dead. More on our zombie servers list.
Quick answers
What is the Shotbow IP?
us.shotbow.net (also play.shotbow.net). Use 1.12.2 for classic MineZ or a 1.21 client for the Rebirth PTR, as the MOTD directs.
Is MineZ free?
Yes. Shotbow sells premium ranks with perks like extra queue priority, but MineZ itself is free to play.
What is MineZ: Rebirth?
The long-awaited update of MineZ from Minecraft 1.12 to 1.21, on the public test realm since August 22, 2026.
Is it PvP?
Yes, everywhere outside a few safe areas. Other players are the real danger, as in DayZ.
Sources
- Shotbow forum: MineZ: Rebirth, the 1.21 update now on PTR
- Shotbow wiki: MineZ
- Shotbow: press kit (history and Eurogamer quote)
Player counts, votes and uptime on this page are live from our own checks. Everything else comes from the sources above. Spot a mistake? Tell us.
