Before Fortnite was the king of video games, there was Minecraft, the blocky, Lego-like game where the only goal was to build and survive. It was insanely popular when it officially came out back in 2011, but it had been available to play as early as 2009. Eventually, it became the highest-selling game ever made with t-shirts, merchandise, and its own convention. While it may not be the media juggernaut it was pre-Fortnite, there is still plenty of interest in Minecraft these days with spin-offs, ports, and variants of the game frequently releasing.
Of course, with a title as big as Minecraft, there needs to be some crossover with other large franchises, and on Tuesday, Minecraft announced some interesting DLC. Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends will entering the Minecraft universe, but this is more than just some Sonic skins for your Minecraft characters — players can run through some of Sonic’s most iconic levels as if they were Minecraft worlds. It looks absolutely fantastic.
This is way more in-depth than anyone would expect from what is essentially a crossover. While most games would just give the player some cool skins and call it a day, this looks like a fully-fledged out Sonic game in the form of Minecraft. Crossovers never go the extra mile anymore and it’s kind of disappointing, so maybe this will start a positive trend.
For anyone wondering why Sonic is making an appearance in Minecraft, it’s because this is a part of his 30th anniversary celebration. Via Minecraft.net:
Sonic isn’t only known for his speed or spikes, but also as a generous celebrator of birthdays. He doesn’t expect gifts on his special day, he hands out his own! That’s classy. Get your hands on a Character Creator item, available for free in the Minecraft Marketplace.
You can also celebrate Sonic’s birthday by joining the special server event! Starting soon, The Hive are hosting a two-week server-hub takeover featuring mini-games and a few festive surprises. I heard a rumor that something special is happening on one of the weekends, so make sure to check in regularly! Keep an eye on @minecraft on Twitter for details!
This doesn’t feel like the last we’ll see of Sonic before the year is up, but for now, let’s all go enjoy him running around in Minecraft.