Minecraft update brings several new features and limited edition DLC to Xbox 360 and Xbox One

Brad Stephenson

Minecraft update brings several new features and limited edition DLC to Xbox 360 and Xbox One

Some massive free updates went live on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of Minecraft today. They upgrade the game to a new version and bring with it a host of new features that many Minecraft fans have been clamoring for.

Among the new additions are new Fence, Gate and Door blocks as well as new Oak, Spruce, Birch and Jungle wood type blocks. There’s a new ability to flatten mountains and caverns and several new items like Iron Trapdoors, Inverted Daylight Sensors, Books & Quills, and Stained Glass.

The update also adds options that can change the game mode, difficulty, time, player spawn position, ambient cave sounds, and weather without leaving a game session and brings PC-style crafting to console versions .

To tie-in to this year’s Minecon (a real-world convention for Minecraft fans), a limited edition Minecon 2015 Skin Pack has also been released and is downloadable for free from the Xbox Store until the 15th of July. The skin pack contains special Minecon capes for both male and female character models.

New block styles, crafting and land manipulation tools introduced

Minecraft has been in the news a lot recently. The game made headlines during this year’s E3 where a special version of the game was shown off during Microsoft’s HoloLens presentation and they’ve now launched a special Minecraft for Education website to help educators use Minecraft for teaching students a variety of subjects and skills. Earlier today it was announced that Minecraft has sold over 20 million copies worldwide on PC since its launch and the developer, Mojang even boasted about selling 10,364 copies on PC within the 24 hours leading up to that announcement.

Microsoft purchased Mojang and the rights to Minecraft in November 2014 and has been actively expanding the franchise. Which new Minecraft project excites you the most? Would you like to see the brand expand even further or are you happy with Minecraft sticking to its basic video game roots? Let us know in the comments below.