New ‘Halo 5’ DLC Skins Coming To The ‘Minecraft’ Mash-Up Pack


Ahead of next week’s launch of Halo 5: Guardians, the Xbox One and Xbox 360 editions of Minecraft will be updated this Friday to include new avatar skins of Master Chief and the Spartan teams.

When a paid add-on is released for a game, players don’t usually expect to see additional features added to the DLC for free months after it was initially launched, but that’s exactly what 4J Studios is doing with the Xbox versions of Minecraft. Rather than releasing their newly planned Halo 5 content as a brand-new DLC, the developer has instead decided to simply patch the extra content in to the officially licensed Halo Edition Mash-Up Pack that is already available for Minecraft on both the Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Minecraft Halo avatar skins
The new Spartan skins heading to the Minecraft: Halo Mash-up Pack [Image via Xbox Wire]
In a move that should keep fans happy, Microsoft announced their intentions to add new content based on Halo 5: Guardians to the existing Minecraft DLC. Xbox Wire has confirmed that the previous Halo mash-up pack add-on will be expanded to include eight new skins themed after individual Spartan member of the Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris from Halo 5: Guardians.

“This free update to the Minecraft: Halo Edition mash-up pack will bring new characters from Halo 5: Guardians to Minecraft on Xbox and include all of the content from the original pack for those purchasing for the first time”

The new Minecraft skins could have easily been released as a new standalone DLC with a separate purchase, but Microsoft and 4J Studios are working together to provide an extra treat to Xbox owners who have already picked up the Halo mash-up pack. This free addition to the previously released add-on is likely possible due to the fact that Microsoft now owns both the Halo and Minecraft franchises following their recent acquisition of Mojang.

As with all of Minecraft‘s currently released mash-up packs, players can completely change several aspects of the popular block-building title thanks to the Halo-themed DLC. In addition to gaining access to the eight upcoming Halo 5: Guardians skins, the add-on already includes 40 different skins based on various characters from the Halo universe.

Halo 5 spartans in Mincecraft
Recreate your favorite Halo moments in Minecraft [Image via Xbox Wire]
Unlike simple skin packs, however, Minecraft mash-up packs also alter the soundtrack and world textures of the game in order to fully transform the voxel title. The Halo Edition Mash-up Pack features multiple tracks from the series’ official soundtrack as well as a new user interface for Minecraft that was inspired by the Xbox shooter. The appearance of most items, material blocks, and mobs in the game are also altered in the DLC As well.

“The mash-up pack, expertly crafted by 4J Studios, includes a Halo-themed texture set, themed menus and user interface, craft-able items and 31 music tracks across the Halo franchise. Also available are 40 pixel-perfect character skins depicting beloved Halo characters such as the Master Chief, Cortana, Sergeant Johnson, the Arbiter and more. For fans looking to fully immerse themselves into the Halo universe.”

4J Studios also recently teased the upcoming addition of the Mesa biome that is currently in development for the console editions of Minecraft. While supposedly showing off a new plush toy on Twitter, the team revealed a screen featuring the new environment type.

While not yet announced for the Xbox or Playstation version of Minecraft, series creator Mojang is now busy on a major update that is expected to bring about big changes to the game. As reported by the Inquisitr, the patch will introduce plenty of new features such as flying caps alongside a massive overhaul to Minecraft‘s present combat systems. Since most of the content from the PC version of Minecraft is eventually released across all platforms, it is assumed that these changes will also be heading to consoles at some point.

Will the new Halo 5 skins for Minecraft help tide you over until the game officially launches on Xbox One next week?

[Images via Xbox Wire]

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