Mash-Up Packs and Texture Packs Coming to Minecraft for Xbox in TU12

The next big release of Minecraft for the XBox (MinecraftXBLA) will be version TU12 and it's going to include texture pack downloads! The fun doesn't stop there either. Not only will TU12 include texture packs but it'll also come with a brand new feature called Mash-Up packs which is a combination of texture packs, skin packs, user interface skin, music and themed worlds.

4JStudios (the developers) have revealed that TU12 is one of the biggest architectural overhauls for Minecraft.We suspect this is because they're improving the built height which has been doubled in size. No confirmations on increasing the map size yet but that could also be on the agenda.

We've seen a handful of sneak screenshots for TU12 and there's a number of 'meaty' features coming our way. They include some of the PC mobs such as domestic cats and iron golems. Decorative heads also make their first appearance (without the Wither yet through).

Minecraft Xbox TU12

Confirmed features for TU12

Build height has been doubled
Upside down slabs
Iron Golems
Tameable cats
Mash-Up packs
Texture packs

How to use texture packs on Xbox?

Not many details on this yet but it's highly likely that these will be downloadable packs, similar to the already existing skin packs. These will probably be released on a regular basis and cost a certain number of Microsoft Live points.

Minecraft Xbox TU12 - Texture Packs

You can expect to see the most popular texture packs being released first. Packs such as John Smiths will surely be top of the list. The Mash-Up packs are also an interesting twist on the downloadable content theme. It'll be interesting to see which texture packs, skins, music..get packaged up together.

TU12 Release Date

TU12 is currently in cert testing with Microsoft (July 28th) but it should be available at the beginning of August. Anyone with an XBox Live account can download the update for free. Anyone with the retail (disc) version of the Minecraft can always use their XBox Live trial to download the latest version.