By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Merlin Entertainments and Mojang Studios say they will open the world’s first Minecraft theme park next year in the UK.
The partners say Minecraft World will open in Chessington, a community in Greater London, just over half an hour from London’s Waterloo Station. It will be located in the wider Chessington World of Adventures Resort, a massive entertainment development on 128 acres of land that includes a theme park, zoo and aquarium.
The 50 million pound development will feature a new coaster, interactive attractions, block-built playscapes, and themed retail and dining areas inspired by the game’s biomes, mobs and items. The project represents a significant brand licensing milestone for Mojang, extending the Minecraft intellectual property into the physical entertainment space at scale for the first time. Minecraft is the world’s best-selling video game.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing Minecraft’s creativity, bold adventures, and ridiculous fun to life at a theme park for the first time at Chessington World of Adventures,” said Angela Jobson, SVP of Global Brand at Merlin Entertainments. “Minecraft World will allow friends and families to play, explore and craft together on a truly epic scale. Working closely together with Mojang Studios we are meticulously creating an authentic world that the global community of Minecraft fans will want to immerse themselves in and experience the game in a whole new way.”
The partnership includes collaboration with Minecraft content creators to support authentic representation of the franchise, a model increasingly common in major entertainment licensing deals as rights holders seek to preserve brand integrity across physical extensions.
There is, of course, a certain irony that Minecraft is opening a physical theme park in the real world when the game is credited with being one of the main platforms for digital worlds in the metaverse, but brand owner Mojang says the development will give Minecraft another way to meet its fans where they live.
In fact, Torfi Frans Olafsson, Senior Creative Director of Entertainment at Minecraft, said the project reflects a broader strategy to expand the franchise’s physical presence.
“Minecraft World represents a meaningful milestone in our ongoing journey to expand the Minecraft universe,” Olafson said. “We’re thrilled to have partnered with Merlin Entertainments to realise a place where you can literally be in the Minecraft Overworld and have an adventure of your own with your family and friends. The team at Merlin Entertainments and Mojang have worked hard to craft an experience that feels immersive, authentic and welcoming, and we can’t wait for our community to experience it.”
Merlin Entertainments, which welcomes more than 62 million guests annually across more than 20 countries, has an established track record of translating major entertainment brands into theme park experiences. Its existing licensing portfolio includes partnerships with the Lego Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Peppa Pig, DreamWorks and Ferrari.
This project is the first major theme park for Minecraft, but also among very few theme parks that are based on a video gaming franchise.