Minecraft on the Xbox hit an anniversary, and Microsoft wants to give you a gift to celebrate.
The Xbox 360 version of Minecraft turns four years old today, and Microsoft is giving away the 4th Birthday Skin Pack for free to everyone playing Xbox editions of the game. This means that gamers on 360 and Xbox One who own Minecraft can boot up the Xbox Store and download this content immediately to change the look of their characters in the block-building world. It is free through May 16. Microsoft purchased Minecraft and developer Mojang in 2014 for $2.5 billion, and the company is using its investment to keep a link with a massive new generation of consumers that are growing up on one of the most popular properties in the $99.6 billion gaming industry.
The new skin pack features T-shirts modeled after various enemies and animals, known as mobs, from the universe of Minecraft. These include the iconic creeper and the adorable chicken.
Above: Hanging out with the new skin pack.
While Minecraft is now a Microsoft property, the game also exists on PlayStation 4, Wii U, other consoles, and mobile. Despite the conflict of Microsoft putting out a game on a Sony, Nintendo, or Apple platform, the company hasn’t pulled any support for any of those versions. Actually, the Minecraft: Wii U Edition got some Mario-related downloadable content today, which is a strange thing to see.
At the same time, the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions do get the most DLC, and that’s likely going to continue. But Microsoft is consistently indicating that it will continue ensuring Minecraft is healthy on every platform because it doesn’t want to spoil the appeal of a franchise that could go on to make it a lot of money over the next decade or so.