By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
BBC Studios and Minecraft Education have teamed up once again for a new licensed game called Planet Earth III Minecraft World.
Minecraft Education is the game-based learning division of Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios online gaming platform, Minecraft.
The division develops and produces creative game-based content that covers a wide variety of subjects for schools and educational institutions across the globe.
“Minecraft Education is delighted to extend our partnership with BBC Earth, building on our work in Frozen Planet II,” said Minecraft Education director, Justin Edwards. “The new experience of the natural world in Planet Earth III brings us closer to the animals and their surrounding environment. In this world, you will learn about animals from different continents, across sea, sky, and land, and how they survive and thrive.”
The Planet Earth III Minecraft World features landscapes, animals and learning resources that are inspired by BBC Studios’ latest series from its Natural History Unit. The licensed game begins at the BBC Planet Earth III Field Station which allows players to select their preferred biome, study its wildlife and assume the roles of different animals.
“We are delighted to partner with Minecraft Education, and that children globally will have the opportunity to interact with stories inspired by the Planet Earth III series through immersive gameplay while learning more about our fragile natural world and the creatures we share this planet with,” said BBC Studios producer, Matt Brandon.
The new BBC Studios x Minecraft Education game follows the success of Frozen Planet II Minecraft Worlds, which achieved the most downloads in a single day for any educational game in Minecraft history.
The Planet Earth III Minecraft World is currently being made available in 29 different languages across both the Minecraft Education Marketplace and the Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Marketplace.
The Planet Earth III Minecraft World officially launched for audiences across the globe starting on Jan. 16, 2024.
A commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group, BBC Studios is a media content company that finances, develops and produces in-house TV programs, in addition to distributing and marketing licensed programs by independent UK-based content creators.
The Planet Earth III TV series was produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, alongside BBC America, France Télévisions for BBC and Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF).