The Western Isles has been given the Minecraft treatment after Ordnance Survey built
hyper-realistic new world from open data.
The UK mapping service has attempted to break a world record by creating the largest
real-world place to ever exist in the popular construction game.
OS decided to release 16 areas of Britain first to improve the gaming experience for players.
Inspired by the new A Minecraft Movie, the representation of Britain was put together using by OS using its own data.
Scottish locations include the Western Isles, Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as Ben Nevis and Shetland.
Players can use the in-built game mapping features to create their own maps or find
areas they want to build upon
By bringing OS data into gaming, OS says it has created an interactive, realistic representation of Britain that brings geography and mapping to both younger generations, keen to explore and learn about these islands, and seasoned gamers.
Ordnance Survey content manager Robert Bull said it’s a “thrill to see the Western Isles and the Shetland Islands brought to life. The beaches, vegetation, islands and sea have turned out to look really impressive in Minecraft.” it’s also been a thrill to see the Western Isles and the Shetland Islands brought to life. The beaches, vegetation, islands and sea have turned out to look really impressive in Minecraft.”
This new Minecraft world was developed by OS graduate and Minecraft enthusiast Jonathan Allsup.
Jonathan said: "Finding new, innovative ways to map and visualise our nation is what it’s all about when working for OS.
"The same principles of cartography apply here in game space as they do when making OS maps. Balancing map styling and our data’s capability is an art form.
"For this project, we strived to push our open data to the limits which is why it looks so realistic.
"Plus, the educational aspect to it is strong. Kids relate to this game. It’s still popular now and is a great way to communicate the idea of location data and geography.
"Playing and building on a Minecraft map of Britain is much more engaging than looking at PowerPoint presentations in a classroom."
OS Minecraft GB 25 for PC can be downloaded at os.uk/minecraft.
Western Isles feature in latest Minecraft map project inspired by new movie
10 April 2025