You Can Now Play As Baby Yoda In New 'Minecraft' DLC
Grogu (also widely known as "Baby Yoda") has became a huge part of the Star Wars canon, and his influence doesn't end in that universe. Grogu has followed the proud path blazed by Star Wars characters such as Ewoks, porgs, and droids in being an adorable, irresistible cash cows. Grogu is no stranger to video game DLC, appearing in Disney-owned titles such as the Star Wars flight simulation game Squadrons as a purchasable cockpit decoration, and the mobile RPG Galaxy of Heroes as an actual playable character. Whether an inspiring cosmetic upgrade or a playable character, Grogu's mass appeal is not limited to the Disney digital market. Grogu has appeared on apparel, a waffle maker, Funko Pops, Christmas ornaments, cups, and phone cases. Pretty much everything and anything that can be Star Wars branded with Grogu's likeness has been. Now he has made his way into the popular sandbox game, Minecraft.
Grogu won't be Minecraft's first popular media addition to their block building world. Minecraft has a long history of adding popular media titles content to their game, including Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jurassic Park. Who wouldn't want to explore the 8-bit-like game with Jack Sparrow, Sherriff Woody, or a T-Rex? While Minecraft allows you to build your own world, complete with impossible towers, lava pits, and impossible free standing structures, some of the fun certainly comes from exploring worlds prebuilt for you. A dozen different Star Wars planets have been added to that list, as have several iconic moments. Whether your preference is fighting AT-ATs with snowballs, or meeting Cara Dune on a forest planet, Sorgan, complete with shrimp farmers in need of assistance, Minecraft has a platform for you to explore your destiny in a galaxy far, far away.
The content released by Minecraft seems to be primarily focused around the original trilogy, with iconic moments from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi all specifically cited in the press release form Minecraft. This will give players the opportunity to see iconic Star Wars moments like the Battle of Hoth, the duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader at Cloud City, and Mando and Baby Yoda exploring the galaxy all with a Minecraft flair. These scenes and experiences demonstrate how Minecraft is concerned with more beyond the cut and dry material of the original trilogy that has been worked and reworked countless times. Minecraft also concerns itself with the overall experience of its players in regards to the universe it tries to emulate. With the reintroduction of none centralized storylines in the Star Wars universe, including the "Mando universe," Minecraft demonstrates its commitment to diversification from the original trilogy.
Minecraft, released by Mojang Studios in 2011, has enjoyed a large fanbase and consistent monthly players for its entire existence, including an average of 126 million players a month. Minecraft fits a unique niche in the video game marketplace by allowing you to fully explore your imagination with blocks. Its wide open creative space and simplistic user interface has endeared it to gamers of all ages. Its developers encourage players to explore any and all structures, artwork, or scenarios that can be built with blocks. Exploring such worlds as Tatooine, Navarro, or Endor has never been easier with the new Star Wars DLC, enabling Minecraft players to see the sights, meet the aliens, and live the adventures of Star Wars planets across the universe.
As the future of Star Wars video games is unclear with Ubisoft taking over the development of an open world Star Wars game, it is reassuring to at least have a Star Wars DLC appear in an consistently popular video game, heralding potential future DLCs for not only specifically Star Wars video games, but also popular games who could attract the attention of Disney and those who would assign DLC to other companies.
Source(s): Space.com