Sprawling Harry Potter World Created By Minecraft Modders

Minecraft has been a fertile playground for ambitious projects, but one recently unveiled mod is particularly magical. The Floo Network modders revealed a trailer for their "Minecraft School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," a massive recreation of Harry Potter landmarks and locales, with activities to match.

The gameplay trailer shows familiar locations like Hogwarts Castle, complete with the Great Hall and twisting staircases, Hagrid's hut, the Quidditch pitch, and Diagon Alley. It even recreates parts of London, including the train station that takes you to Platform 9 3/4. The visuals seem largely based on the settings as presented in the series of films.

But you can actually do more than simply explore the castle grounds. You can also scavenge for magical loot and solve mysteries in the castle, and fight against Death Eaters with wand projectiles. The team is aiming to release the map by the end of January.

The mod gives another layer of adventuring to the core Minecraft game, which has retained its popularity since its official release in 2011. Meanwhile, Mojang is planning a new type of co-op Minecraft adventure with Minecraft Dungeons, which is releasing this April.