The best way to supercharge a PC game, especially after you’re mostly done with it, is to install some mods. They can be a great way to make a game fun again. They’re usually unofficial, which is why a lot of people stray from them, but what if you could have sanctioned, official “mods” that aren’t made by the game developers, but otherwise have an official stamp of approval? This is exactly the concept Minecraft is currently trying out, with “add-ons” coming soon to players.
Minecraft has just announced add-ons for the Bedrock edition of the game, which is the version of Minecraft available on Windows, Xbox, Android, PlayStation, and all other platforms except the original Java Edition. Add-ons can be thought of as either officially sanctioned mods or third-party-developed DLC, as they’re basically additional content (such as extra blocks, mobs, or functionality) that you can download to your game. They probably won’t be as powerful and game-changing as the mods available in Minecraft: Java Edition, though.
The add-ons are made by developers not from with Mojang or Microsoft, but are available to buy through the Minecraft Marketplace. You don’t really need to do any complicated setup, as it’s just a plug and play solution that you can install from the Minecraft Marketplace. We’ve seen a few other games take this approach, such as the Community Creations in Skyrim Special Edition, but Minecraft hasn’t gone that far until now. There are also a number of paid add-ons, which also sets them apart from most mods.
The best part, however, is that these are officially approved and supported by Mojang/Microsoft. Looking at the support page, we can see that in order to publish add-ons you need to become a Marketplace Partner—applications for that are currently closed, but if it’s something you’re interested in, you should certainly wait around to apply and publish your content on the Minecraft Marketplace.
There are 15 add-ons currently available and this list will almost certainly grow exponentially over time, so make sure to give them a spin and download them. Some of them are paid, and others are free.
Source: Mojang
