Super Mario is coming to Minecraft on Wii U

Last December, Minecraft made its much-belated debut on Nintendo hardware with a new version on the Wii U. While the game itself was virtually identical to Minecraft on other platforms, it came with some interesting potential: Nintendo announced plans for "new content for Nintendo fans to be released at a future date." Today the company is finally revealing just what that means.

The Wii U version of Minecraft will be getting a host of Super Mario-themed content, including new textures for the world, 40 different character skins (including oddballs like Waluigi), and 15 pieces of Super Mario 64 music. It will also include a new pre-made Mario world designed using all of the new content that you can explore, and it will all be available on May 17th as a free update. Nintendo will also be releasing a retail version of Minecraft on Wii U on June 17th, and it will come with the new Mario add-ons already on the disc.

While Minecraft is home to all kinds of licensed add-ons — covering everything from The Simpsons to Doctor Who — this will be the first time a Nintendo property makes its way officially into the blocky world.