Mario and his chums will soon venture into the blocky world of Minecraft as part of a free update for Minecraft – Wii U Edition. Minecraft – Mario Mashup launching digitally on May 17, will offer a bundle of item textures, character skins, and music ripped from the portly plumber’s world.

Nintendo will also release a retail version of Minecraft on Wii U (which will cost $29.99) on June 17th, and it will come with Super Mario pack on the disc.

What has Minecraft – Mario Mashup in store for you?

The content of the Mashup is inspired by Super Mario 64, Super Mario World, and Super Mario Sunshine.

You can also choose to dress up as iconic characters including Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach, or mischievous troublemakers like Bowser and Wario.

The Mashup will include several improvements, like:

• 40 new Super Mario-themed skins (including oddballs like Waluigi)
• A pre-made world that’s dedicated to Super Mario
• A wide array of Super Mario-themed music and items.

The players can also create their own Super Mario-themed locations within the world of Minecraft.

While building, players will enjoy listening to the smooth sounds of 15 pieces of music from Super Mario 64.

There will be a pre-made Super Mario-themed map, just in case you aren’t up to the challenge of crafting one from scratch.

Summarizing

The upcoming launch of Super Mario Mash-Up Pack suggests that Nintendo has entered into a partnership with current Minecraft franchise owner Microsoft. But, neither company has announced plans to continue the partnership across other games or consoles.

While Minecraft is home to all kinds of licensed add-ons including everything from The Simpsons to Doctor Who, but this will be the first time that a Nintendo property officially makes its way into the blocky world.

However, such an addition won’t change the Wii U’s dwindling sales, but this could turn out to be a real highlight. Unless Nintendo has some other surprises planned for E3.