Minecraft Smash Bros. negotiations started ‘at least’ 5 years ago, claims Mojang co-founder

Negotiations to bring Minecraft’s Steve to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate started over five years ago, Mojang’s co-founder and former production director has claimed.

The Microsoft and Nintendo collaboration was announced via a live stream on Thursday, which promptly caused Twitter to crash following its pivotal reveal.

Daniel Kaplan – who now works at Swedish publisher Coffee Stain – claimed on Twitter following the announcement that the Smash deal had been in the works for “at least” five years.

“That’s when talks started at least. No idea when implementation started,” he wrote.

Kaplan, who was one of the first original employees at Mojang, also shared an anecdote about how he and other Mojang employees almost missed a flight due to a heated game of Smash Bros. on Nintendo 3DS.

This week’s Minecraft Smash Bros. reveal will be followed by a more detailed broadcast discussing the upcoming content on October 3 at 7.30am PT/10.30am ET/3.30pm UK. This “deep dive” into the DLC will also include a release date announcement, Nintendo has confirmed.

Steve and Alex will be available to players who purchase Smash Bros. Ultimate’s second Fighters Pass for $29.99/£26.99/€29.99 or Challenger Pack 7 separately for $5.99/£5.39/€5.99.

Mojang’s current CCO, Jens Bergensten said of the collaboration: “Bringing Minecraft to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the result of an amazing collaboration with Nintendo.

“As fans of the series and avid players at our studios, we couldn’t be more excited to see Minecraft join Smash’s already legendary lineup of characters.”