One of the coolest things about video games as a whole is that, in the right hands, they can be adapted into various other forms of media. Naturally, we’ve seen this happen with cartoons and live-action TV shows and movies, with some of them reaching incredible success. However, we’ve also seen them go into toys, t-shirts, and even theme parks. Nintendo is the first company to truly transform its gaming library into a full-on park that people can enjoy, and it will only grow bigger over time. Now, Minecraft is getting into the theme park business.
This came from a special announcement from Merlin. No, not the legendary wizard; they’re the company that built Legoland, among other things. The company is teaming up with Microsoft and Mojang to deliver a theme park in both the US and the UK that will reflect everything that the legendary video game is. In that press release, CEO Scott O’Neill had this to say:
“This is a significant milestone for Merlin, which reinforces our commitment to reaching new audiences through bold and captivating concepts, and directly supports our ambitions for growth. Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time, and this world-first will see fans experience its thrill and creativity in real life, at theme parks and city-centre attractions in leading tourist destinations.”
You can very easily tell that he’s invested in this, and he’s not wrong about the title being the best-selling video game of all time. It’s sold hundreds of millions of copies within its roughly 15 years of life, meaning gamers from all over the world would be invested in coming to a park like this, should it be worth their time. Oh, and O’Neill has huge plans for the future:
“This initial investment is just the beginning, replicating Merlin’s tried-and-tested approach to globally launching new concepts and platforms, as we have with LEGO, Peppa Pig, Sony Pictures, CBeebies and others. This is an exciting opportunity for our Merlin Magic Making team, working collaboratively with Mojang Studios to bring cross-reality experiences, themed accommodation and other elements to life for the largest gaming community in the world.”
Undoubtedly, there’s plenty of potential here. That grows when you recall that there’s a movie based on the game coming out next year. While the park will open in 2026/2027, if the movie helps build up the hype for it even more, it could have an even bigger opening than Super Nintendo World.
