Halo Mash-Up: Minecraft Evolved

Promotion image from Halo Waypoint.

"It's time to finish the fight, Minecraft-style."

— Trailer description^[1]

The Halo Mash-Up: Minecraft Evolved, also referred to as the Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition - Halo Mash-Up Pack, for the Xbox 360 edition of Minecraft is a texture pack created by 4J Studios, with the help of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries and Mojang.^[2] The texture set includes Halo-themed menus and user interface, craftable items, and thirty-one music tracks that originated from the Halo franchise. Additionally, the pack includes six Halo-themed maps and fifty-six characters from the Halo universe.^[3]^[4] When Minecraft was released for the Xbox One, the mash-up pack was made able to transfer over for free.^[5]

The Halo Mash-Up Pack was released for download on Xbox Live on May 28, 2014 for US$3.99.^[4] A limited trial version of the mash-up pack is available for download for free. Due to Halo's partnership with Microsoft, the mash-up pack is not available for PlayStation editions of Minecraft.^[5]

It will also be available on the Nintendo Switch.^[6]

Overview

Launch

All items, blocks and mobs in the Minecraft world have been retextured to match a Halo theme. Minecraft swords are now energy swords, with a different blade color for each type of sword. Maps are now UNSC data pads. Axes have been reskinned and are now gravity hammers, with different colors based on axe-type. The Minecraft bow is now a needler, with the arrows being retextured to look like the needler's ammunition, and flint and steel is a frag grenade. Shields were retextured as Kig-Yar point defense gauntlets. Beds are Halo 4's rendition of the cryo chamber with Minecraft "Steve?" inside of it. Zombies are made to look like Halo 4 Flood combat forms and creepers are Pod infectors. Ingots look like Halo armor abilities and dyes look like different colors of fusion coils. Some food items are retextured to look like military ration packs. Leather armor is Commando armor, chainmail armor is Raider armor, iron armor is Scout armor, gold armor is Thel 'Vadam's kaidon armor, diamond armor is Venator armor and netherite armor is ODST armor. Equipping a pumpkin as a helmet will give a player a mask pattern that resembles the Heads-up display from the MJOLNIR armor.

All six remade maps appear in the same Minecraft world. On the world in the mash-up, the player spawns near the Bumblebee escape pod surrounded by hallways that lead to the recreated Halo maps. A Spirit dropship appears hovering above the spawning location. Guardian is located in the only jungle biome in the world. Next to the Guardian is Sandtrap. The Forerunner structures on Sandtrap are constructed out of retextured sandstone. Although the crashed Phantom and Albatross are included on Sandtrap, the Elephants are not. On The Silent Cartographer, the player is given boats to travel to the map. The map features M12 Warthogs and Pelicans. Valhalla also features Warthogs and the downed Pelican, but the surface is not as elevated as it is in the Halo 3 map. To get to Blackout, the player must traverse across an icy tundra, occasionally using boats. The Blackout map features all the rooms that Halo 3's Blackout does. Blood Gulch has Warthogs and Banshees, along with the recreation of the map's caves and cliffs. Some of the maps feature chests containing items for the player.

In addition to the six maps, several isolated objects from the Halo series appear scattered for the player to find throughout the world. The Nether has the Didact's Cryptum surrounded by a Nether fortress. Near Blood Gulch, a Scarab is engaged in combat with a Mammoth, with several Karo'etba-pattern Ghosts and Warthogs in between the two. Near Valhalla, one of the Covenant Bases from Snowbound can be found. Several vehicles like Warthogs and Pelicans and Forerunner-style buildings are scattered around the map. The Halo installation appears as the world's skybox and the planet Threshold is the re-textured sun.

Halo 5: Guardians Update

On the 23 October 2015, a free update to the mash-up pack was released that introduced new characters to the pack based on Halo 5: Guardians.^[7]

Halo Infinite Update

On the 10 December 2021, a second free update to the mash-up pack was released that introduced new characters to the pack based on Halo Infinite and the Halo franchise's 20th anniversary.^[8]

Enderman - San'Shyuum
Ghast - Huragok
Bat - Yanme'e
Rabbit / Llama - Unggoy
Villager / Vindicator - Jiralhanae (unarmored Minor, Captain, Chieftain, War Chieftain, Pluton)
Witch - Elder Jiralhanae Chieftain
Wither - Mgalekgolo
Ravager - Protos-pattern Scarab
Pillager - Zealot
Hoglin - Deutoros-pattern Scarab

Forerunner

Evoker - Warden Eternal
Magma Cube - Rampant Monitor
Parrot - Monitors
Skeleton / Stray / Wither Skeleton - Promethean Knight
Wolf / Fox - Promethean Crawler
Vex - Rampant Monitor
Blaze / Panda - Unknown Forerunner machines
Wandering Trader - Promethean Warrior
Warden - Warden Eternal (Maybe)
Allay - 343 Guilty Spark

Flood

Guardian / Elder Guardian - Proto-Gravemind, Gravemind
Mooshroom / Slime / Creeper / Bee - Flood forms
Silverfish - Flood spore
Spider / Cave Spider - Flood stalker form
Squid - Pod infector
Zombie / Husk / Drowned - Spartan Flood combat form
Zombified Piglin - Human Flood combat form
Zombified Villager - Brute Flood combat form

UNSC

Piglin / Piglin Brute - UNSC Marine
Iron Golem - Mark I Prototype Armor Defense System
Shulker - M8 Wolf Spider
Strider - Mantis

Other

Pig - Warthog
Sheep - Spadehorn
Chicken - Moa
Horse - Moa, Blind wolf, Thorn beast, Dinosaur
Donkey / Ocelot - Zebras and Tigers
Ender Dragon - Quadwing
Endermite - Covenant pest
Turtle - Orzil
Dolphin - Paelosur
Zombified Hoglin - Barukaza Workshop Scarab

Bedrock Update

When Bedrock Edition was released, the map went through major modifications. Instead of players freely exploring the world, they engaged in a Campaign-style system where upon starting a new world, players completed certain tasks in each of the different Halo locations. Upon completing the task, players unlocked the next location, and after completing all six 'missions', were then able to enter the nether and destroy the Didact's Cryptum. However, by completing each mission, enemies became much more varied and difficult.

Missions

Blood Gulch - Capture the Blue Flag
Guardian - Find 8 Buttons
The Silent Cartographer - Power up the Power Core
Sandtrap - Turn on all Lights
Valhalla - Find 2 Key Cards and bring to crashed Pelican cave
Blackout - Use what you have learned
Didact's Cryptum - Destroy the Didact's Cryptum

Soundtrack

Music from a range of tracks from iconic Halo soundtracks can be heard while during gameplay. Like regular minecraft, some of these track will only play during certain conditions, such as exploring the Nether and fighting mobs.

List of tracks:

Trivia

Before v1.16, Zombie Pigmen were textured as the Flood tank form. After v1.16, this mob replaced by the Zombified Piglin, and was retextured to look like a UNSC Marine Flood Combat Form.
Before v1.19, Vex's were textured as the Promethean Watcher. After v1.19, this mob was retextured as a Rampant Monitor, as a result of remodeling the vex's normal model.