Minecraft is full of exciting adventure maps, and the next one is meant to be both entertaining and educational. Mojang has teamed up with BBC Earth to bring climate change-related content to the game.
BBC Earth’s Frozen Planet II is airing now, and this DLC of the same name is meant to help explain climate change concepts to kids. “If you’ve ever started a new Minecraft game and spawned in the middle of an ice plains biome, then you’ll know a thing or two about trying to survive in a difficult environment,” the announcement says. This DLC will reflect similar struggles from the perspective of different animals.
The Frozen Planet II adventures will release in five parts on a weekly basis, from now through October 18. Each of the parts puts you in control of different animals, starting with a polar bear, killer whale, and Lapland bumblebee. Each animal’s quest will illustrate their particular way of life. In the case of the polar bear, you’ll be protecting your cubs as you cross ice floes — you can see some of that in the official trailer below. Walruses, eagles, leopards, and eagles are promised for future episodes. More regions like “snow-covered forests, frozen peaks and vast continents of ice” will also be part of the DLC.
As you might expect from educational content like this, the Frozen Planet II DLC is free. That goes for all five episodes. You can grab the first one for Minecraft: Educational Edition or the standard game from the Minecraft marketplace now.
This isn’t the first time Minecraft has teamed up with a television program. SpongeBob SquarePants DLC released back in July, letting players explore Bikini Bottom as SpongeBob and his underwater pals. That will cost you 1,340 Minecraft coins if you want it — it’s for kids, but it’s not an educational piece like the Frozen Planet II DLC.
