Minecraft updates are always revealed at Minecraft Live events, and this year has been no exception. Version 1.20 will be the next in a long line of updates for the game that will celebrate its 11th birthday next month. So far, little has been revealed about what will be getting added to the game in the as yet unnamed version 1.20, but there are still some exciting details.
Minecraft updates often signal a host of new and interesting additions to the game, such as everything new that the Minecraft Wild Update added to the game earlier this year. These updates have been a large part of why the game has remained so popular for such a long time, and as such, anticipation around this next update is high - even if the version 1.20 update doesn't have a name yet.
The Minecraft Live steaming event offered a variety of insights about the games future to fans, including incoming additions like a new mob, skins, blocks, items, and more, in addition to information regarding how soon players may be able to see all this content in their games. While there's still undoubtedly much more to be revealed, and speculation on further plans is ongoing, here's what is known so far.
Minecraft Live 2022 Revealed No New Biomes For The 1.20 Update
Minecraft's 1.20 may be smaller than some of its predecessors, with many features shown off being comparatively minor. None of the trailers appeared to hint at which biomes would be getting majorly adjusted, if any, nor were new biomes teased. Not having a name for the update makes it even more difficult to speculate as to which areas will be given the most attention, especially with the promising but undelivered Minecraft update archaeology features nowhere to be seen in any of the 1.20 news so far. This has caused fans to worry that those additions will ultimately be scrapped. With the Minecraft Live announcement effectively serving as a teaser for what is yet to come, it is possible that more information about biome changes may become available in the coming months.
Until anything is officially shown, all fans can do is speculate as to how the next update may aim to improve any of the existing biomes, many of which haven't been drastically changed in years. No biome is safe from such speculation, with one devoted fan creating a mockup trailer of a Minecraft river and waterfall rework update. Were this to actually make its way into Minecraft, it would serve as a nice parallel to the expansion of caves that took place in version 1.18.
Minecraft Live 2022 Reveals A New Camel Mob
A new ive mob has been revealed for the next update too. The camel, unsurprisingly, will be found in desert biomes. Two people will be able to ride them in tandem, and instead of a jump, they will have a dash move that allows them to get across rivers that would give horses a lot of trouble. Whilst this may not be the fix for Minecraft's desert biomes that many anticipate, it will make the biomes feel more alive. With a major lack of interesting mobs, they tend to look a little barren, especially when compared to the more visually interesting badlands biome, which is also a desert. If that wasn't enough of a justification for camels, they also have the benefit of being so tall that smaller mobs without ranged attacks like zombies and husks will not be able to reach players when they ride a camel due to a height advantage.
A big part of Minecraft Live is revealing the outcome of the highly anticipated mob vote, though Minecraft votes often pick similar options each year. This time, players had a choice between the Tuff Golem, the Rascal, and the Sniffer. The Tuff Golem was a ive mob that could walk around whilst holding one a player's items, and wear a cloak if crafted with wool. The Rascal would hide in underground areas and play hide and seek, rewarding players with enchanted items if they were able to track it down. The Sniffer was an extinct mob that could be brought back to life by finding its eggs in underwater ruins. With over 55% of the vote, the Sniffer was the clear winner of 2022's mob vote and will make its way into the 1.20 update as a result. It also bucks the blue winner trend.
Minecraft Live 2022 Showed Off The 1.20 Update's New Blocks & Skins
Bamboo seems to be a major star of the update, giving rare Minecraft bamboo jungles biomes a renewed purpose. A variety of bamboo blocks are set to be added. Not only is bamboo receiving the typical full block, slab, and stairs treatment, but the chiseled bookshelf will allow players a unique way of storing their own books. This too will be made with bamboo, giving it a more functional use in addition to the aesthetic purposes of the other new blocks. Bamboo doors and presumably signs are also being added, effectively turning it into a new type of wood block. Rafts will also be made out of bamboo, which appear to function identically to the boat varieties currently in the game.
One of the biggest reveals was the introduction of 7 new default player skins, ing Steve and Alex. These new characters were designed to be representative and give a wider range of players someone to identify with when choosing a default skin without having to resort to the often hard task of making their own Minecraft skins. Adding these new skins marks the first addition since Alex's debut in 2014. Minecraft is a game with such a huge focus on creativity and expression, so this certainly feels like a natural and welcome move. Not much is known about each individual character right now, not even their names, but these details will surely be revealed closer to the update's release.
In what retrospectively feels like a no-brainer, Mojang also announced that version 1.20 will introduce hanging signs. These signs will prove tremendously versatile, whilst also looking nicer than their regular counterpart. They can be attached to any type of block, with the trailer showing them hanging off stone bricks and wooden planks. Although this is a comparatively small feature, Mojang has indicated it would rather initially show and discuss a smaller amount of changes to avoid the disappointment of removing features from Minecraft's Wild Update. Therefore, everything that has been shown thus far will definitely be making its way into the next update.
A Release Date
It was announced as part of the Minecraft Live event that the first snapshot for 1.20 will be coming out as early as in a few days, allowing fans to enjoy the new features almost immediately after they were announced. The full version of the update is slated for a 2023 release, with speculation that it may launch as soon as January. Now that Minecraft's 1.20 update has been officially announced to the public, much more news is likely yet to come about the pieces of it that haven't yet been revealed.
Source: Minecraft/YouTube
