The immensely popular building and survival game Minecraft is getting another major expansion, featuring characters and aliens from the Cartoon Network show Ben 10. This new expansion looks to evolve Minecraft’s already expansive and mystifying game world with new features and cosmetics. As of July 1st, 2021, the DLC pack is available for purchase on all platforms that support Minecraft.
Airing from 2005 to 2008 on Cartoon Network, Ben 10 followed the adventures of the titular Ben Tennyson, after he gained the singular ability to transform into an assortment of ever-changing aliens, each with their own personalities, appearances, and powers. Kids around the world (and likely more than a few adults, as well) wanted nothing more than to tap into this fictional universe and now, thanks to this expansion, they can.
The details of this bundle are outlined in an energetic video released by the official Minecraft Youtube channel. Players will have the chance to replace the iconic Minecraft Steve avatar with a host of alternate skins, including those of popular characters like Rath, Heatblast, Humungousaur, and Ben Tennyson himself, with the other-worldly Omnitrix acting as the tool players will use to switch between each character. Unique movement animations also seem to accompany each skin, with animalistic characters like Rath being shown to lumber across the map on all fours. The differences appear to be more than simply cosmetic, as the trailer shows the speedster alien XLR8 sprinting through the game world much faster than vanilla Minecraft allows.
The features included in this expansion don’t stop at extra cosmetics and minor mechanical tweaks, however; players will also be able to engage with two specialized game modes: Free Roam and Story Mode. In the former, gamers can access all of the new cosmetics, building blocks, and crafting supplies. The latter serves as a sort of remix of the existing Minecraft: Story Mode, where an original narrative will be formed around the Tennysons’ struggle with familiar villains like Kevin 11 and Volgax.
This DLC is part of a much larger initiative by Mojang to bridge the gap between its best-selling title and other popular intellectual properties. Minecraft has received a bevy of skin, texture, and story DLC centered around popular films, TV shows and even other video games over the past decade, keeping the game fresh and popular among multiple fandoms. While there may be a number of detractors who criticize Mojang for artificially prolonging the life of its game with gimmicks and tie-ins, the constant stream of new content, both official and otherwise, helps Minecraft stake its position as one of the most profitable and interesting video games to follow.