The Education Edition ofMinecraftwill be getting a series of worlds inspired by BBC Earth’sFrozen Planet 2program, with the first becoming available on September 21. Released in 2016,Minecraft: Education Editionhas a number of featuresthat are geared toward a classroom setting and teaching students in an engaging, interactive way. Players have even expressed a desire for some of these fun extras, such as sparklers and balloons, to make the move to vanillaMinecraft.
The BBC’snature documentary seriesFrozen Planetmade its debut in 2011 and quickly became a hit and won a number of awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Series. The success has led to a second series,Frozen Planet 2,which debuted on July 15, 2025. In total, there will be six episodes in the new program, which took four and a half years to produce.
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The two media coming together makes perfect sense, as both are intended to provide information in an enjoyable and palatable format. There will be a total of five uniqueFrozen Planet 2maps forMinecraft: Education Edition,one released each week, and the first map will be available on September 21 via the Minecraft Marketplace. Each new world will have corresponding interactive lesson plans for incorporation into a classroom and will be available in 29 languages.
The new content for the game was created using 80 customMinecraftblocksand will allow players to view the world from the perspective of a range of different creatures. In addition to five frozen worlds to explore, the collaboration withFrozen Planet 2will bring eight new animals toMinecraft:leopard, bumblebee, walrus, penguin, eagle, polar bear, chameleon, and orca.
The goal of theFrozen Planetseries and this newMinecraftcontent is to teach players about sustainability, the effects of climate change, and the difficulties of surviving in these frozen habitats. As such, players will be able to take on the role of a natural history film researcher who is tasked with documenting different animal behaviors and conducting environmental research. Even the color of the ocean will be slightly different than usual to more accurately reflect reality.
This isn’t the first time developer Mojang has made an effort to provide content targeting specific educational opportunities.Minecraft: Education Editionadded lessons for International Women’s Day, and there was even free content released for those stuck at home during the coronavirus lockdowns. Players were able to explore the International Space Station, learn more about the human eye, experience working as a marine biologist, and much more.
Minecraft: Education Editionis currently available on Chrome OS, MacOS, iPadOS, and PC.
