We’re on Apple’s magical black box, just in time for the holidays
Do you own one of those fancy Apple TV devices? Maybe Santa has his elves cooking one up in their high-tech workshop?
If either of those are true, I bring good news! We’ve just released Minecraft for the slim black boxes. And, for a limited time, it comes with seven pieces of lovely DLC, giving you the chance to customise the fun to your liking. Minecraft: Apple TV Edition currently includes the Holiday 2015, Town Folk, and City Folk skin packs, along with the Plastic, Natural, Cartoon, and Festive 2016 mash-ups. It costs $19.99 and is rolling out in all regions as I type.
One more thing – though Apple TV Edition doesn’t currently support Minecraft Realms or Xbox Live, we’ll update the game with those features in the near future.
44 new skins are included with Minecraft’s Fallout mash-up pack.
Minecraft and Fallout are coming together with a new mash-up pack for the sandbox game. The $6 Minecraft add-on will introduce 44 skins based on characters from the Fallout series, including Fawkes, Nick Valentine, Tinker Tom, Dogmeat, and of course Fallout’s mascot, Vault Boy.
It also adds new, irradiated environments to explore, complete with two-headed cows and massive, scary-looking spiders. Fallout’s ghouls and other mutants will also show up, as will familiar Fallout locations such as the Capitol Building and Tenpenny Tower.
Additionally, Minecraft’s UI gets a “retro-futuristic” makeover in the mash-up pack, while there are some Fallout songs also included with the expansion. Watch the announcement trailer above to see the new content in action.
This is not Minecraft’s first mash-up pack, as those already available are themed around gaming franchises like Halo, Mass Effect, as well as The Simpsons.
We’ve already seen the holidays bring a ton of different sales on the Xbox One S, but the latest may take the cake . If you have yet to pull the trigger on a console of your own, Microsoft is offering the Minecraft Xbox One S bundle for an impressive $229. The only catch? The discount is only available today, December 16.
Given this bundle usually goes for $299, and most of the discounts we’ve seen so far have only dropped the console to $249, this is a pretty darn good deal. On top of the 500GB console, the bundle packs in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta, Minecraft: Xbox One Edition Favorites Pack and the Minecraft Builder’s Pack. As the cherry on top, you can also add in an extra select game for free.
In any case, if you’re up for saving $70 on the Minecraft Xbox One S bundle, you have through the end of today, December 16, to take advantage of this discount at the Microsoft Store and other retailers.
Minecraft.net is due for a revamp. For years, we’ve wanted this website to represent every bit of our game, from the YouTubers to the impractical creeper mugs. Now, thanks to the slinkiest devs and hottest wordsmiths in the business, that day has finally come.
The humble Mojang blog has served us well. We’ve reported on updates, new editions, DLC packs, billion dollar acquisitions, multiple Minecons, charity game jams, unexpected EULA tweaks, and lots, lots more. Despite all that, it’s still felt like an inward-looking place.
The new Minecraft.net has a wider perspective. Though we’ll still report on all of the above (hopefully no more EULA stuff – that kinda stressed me out), we’re planning to highlight the incredible things you create on a daily basis, introduce you to the Mojang staff, give insight into development, and riff on all things Minecraft, from our favourite mobs to the humble grass block.
Honourable word-goblin, Marsh has been preparing a selection of articles to get you started. Marsh comes from a background in journalism and illustration and joined Mojang almost a year ago. He’s a keen artist, baker, and reader of historical novels about naval battles.
I’m Owen. You’ll see a lot of my work on the site. Though it feels like a distant past (I’ve been here for almost five years!), I also share a background in games journalism. When I’m not writing introductory posts I enjoy playing games, riding bikes fast, and painting Blood Bowl teams.
I’m particularly pleased with our snazzy quote box. It makes everything you say look super clever and important, even when it’s me being quoted – and that’s some achievement!MARSH DAVIES
We’ve split our content into four vague categories and even included a fancy filter that sorts the grid according to your disposition. Don’t be shy! Give it a try!
Culture is dedicated to the amazing folk who’ve made Minecraft what it is today: the community! YouTubers, modders, Add-On creators, server owners, cosplayers and even the deviant artists. Check out our interview with Jesper Öqvist, creator of the outstanding rendering tool, Chunky, or feast your eyes on this amazing console build, Valley of the Iris, to get started.
Insider is a peek behind the curtain. It digs into development secrets, inspiration behind our updates, DLC, game mechanics, and more! This is where you’ll become a Minecraft and Mojang expert, learning about who we are and what we’re up to. The Secrets of Shrunk is a deep dive into one of 4J’s Battle Mode maps. Discover the games that made prolific Minecraft developer, Searge, into the man he is today in our Top 5 feature.
Merch shows off the cool things made by our partners around the world. But don’t worry – it’s not just a bunch of adverts. We’re picking our favourite bits and giving some insight into why they’re special.
Then there’s News. As you might have guessed, this section hosts the most up-to-date info about all editions of Minecraft. It’s basically what Mojang.com has been until today, so if you’re just looking for the cold hard facts, go there and be square. Not really. Please read the news. It’s super important.
OK! Enough from me. Thanks for visiting the new Minecraft.net and come back soon – there’s a lot more on its way!
Rad irradiated skins, map and more – on consoles soon!
In a flash of brilliance not unlike nuclear fusion itself, Minecraft will soon be melded with Fallout, Bethesda Softworks’ much-loved, post-apocalyptic RPG series. So strap on your thickest welding goggles and keep your eyes on the horizon for the mash-up pack’s radiant arrival on Console Edition in the coming days. Or lie under a table. Whatever makes you feel calmer.
Working in the depths of their bunker complex, our artists and builders have been busy blasting Minecraft’s glorious overworld into an irradiated wasteland fit for Fallout fans to wander. Friendly cows, gently sauteed in the light of a thousand suns, have now sprouted second heads, while the familiar supersized spiders have made way for other overgrown arachnids, who scuttle through the dark wielding brutal stingers.
These are not the only mobs to get a little bit melty. Lurking in the shadow of the series’ familiar landmarks – like the Capitol building or Tenpenny Tower – are ghouls, mutants and madmen of many kinds. Vault Dwellers beware: you may be S.P.E.C.I.A.L., but the wasteland is a very dangerous place indeed.
You can be sure you’ll look the part, too, with a choice of 44 skins based on beloved characters from the series, including the likes of Fawkes the philosophical supermutant; robo-sleuth, Nick Valentine; Tinker Tom; Paladin Cross; Jangles The Moon Monkey and Vault Boy himself.
Even the UI has been given a retro-futuristic overhaul in honour of Fallout’s wristmounted computing device, the Pip-Boy! The mash-up also comes with a soundtrack combining familiar tunes from across the Fallout series – so you can keep dancing til the end of the world.
The pack will soon be available for $5.99 USD or your local equivalent for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. I’m not sure we’ll accept bottle caps as payment, though.
