From Bananas to Theme Parks, “Minecraft” Is Building an Even Bigger World

What can you build with “Minecraft”?

At this point, the better question might be what can’t you build.

The world of “Minecraft” has long stretched far beyond the blocks players place on screen, but its consumer products business is continuing to expand in some rather impressive—and occasionally unexpected—directions. From shoes and backpacks to watches, bananas, birthday parties and even an entire theme park land, a growing slate of partnerships is finding new ways to make “Minecraft” part of fans’ everyday lives.

And much like the game itself, there doesn’t seem to be one particular direction in which that world has to grow.

Among its latest collaborations, Hey Dude has introduced “Minecraft” footwear for both children and adults, while Herschel went considerably bigger with a back-to-school collection featuring more than 40 backpacks, lunch kits and accessories. Several limited-edition Herschel styles sold out within days, with that partnership even making its way back into the digital world through a “Minecraft” Marketplace add-on featuring the company’s Little America Cube Backpack.

Fossil, meanwhile, launched its second collection of limited-edition “Minecraft” watches on September 1, with designs drawing inspiration from the Nether, the End and the upcoming “Minecraft Dungeons II.”

Then there are the bananas.

Dole and “Minecraft” have launched a multi-phase campaign across North America and Europe featuring collectible banana stickers and co-branded pineapple tags alongside exclusive in-game Character Creator items. The partnership also extends into recipes, downloadable activities and other content designed around Dole’s focus on encouraging healthy eating.

It sounds like an unusual combination until you consider how naturally “Minecraft” has learned to connect something sitting in the real world with something waiting inside the game. A backpack can become a Marketplace item. A sticker on a banana can sit alongside digital character content. Rather than keeping licensing and gameplay completely separate, those lines can increasingly cross over.

The licensing program is spreading into plenty of other corners as well. Punchbowl is introducing digital greeting cards, invitations and party products, while international partnerships include Latin America’s first “Minecraft” fragrance from Fraiche and a confectionery program from Sweet ‘n Fun across Central and Eastern Europe. Retail loyalty campaigns, inflatables from Happy People and X Rocker gaming chairs are pushing the brand further into celebrations, outdoor play, home and gaming spaces.

There is also plenty more material on the way for partners to work with.

“Minecraft Dungeons II” launches September 29, bringing new heroes, villains, creatures and environments that can eventually make their way into toys, apparel, publishing, collectibles and other categories. At the same time, “Minecraft” continues to grow outside traditional retail altogether through location-based entertainment.

“Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue” has now welcomed more than one million guests worldwide, while “Minecraft Experience: Moonlight Trail” is continuing its international expansion after launching in Buenos Aires, with Santiago, Chile set to follow in October.

The scale gets considerably larger in 2027. “Minecraft World,” the franchise’s first fully immersive themed land at a major theme park, is currently under construction at Chessington World of Adventures near London through a partnership with Merlin Entertainments.

And that is before we even get to the screen.

A sequel to “A Minecraft Movie” is planned for a July 2027 theatrical release, while a new animated “Minecraft” series is also in development for Netflix. Combined with new games, consumer products and physical experiences, those projects give the franchise an increasingly large number of doors through which someone can enter its world.

That may ultimately be one of “Minecraft’s” greatest strengths as a brand. The game was never built around one hero, one storyline or even one particular way to play. It hands players a collection of recognizable pieces and asks them to decide what those pieces become.

More than a decade later, its wider franchise seems to be doing much the same thing.

A movie? Build it. A backpack? Sure. A theme park land? Absolutely.

A banana?

Well, apparently there’s room in the inventory for that too.