History of Minecraft updates

Since its release, Minecraft has continued to evolve. Whether you’re new to our community, returning after a break – or you’ve played since day one – this page will take you through how this blocky game has continued to expand and grow with each update and game drop! 

Our latest release

Mounts of mayhem

A timeline of Minecraft updates

Dive back in time and see how Minecraft has evolved since its release, starting with our most recent game drops! From Mounts of Mayhem to Spring to Life, Village and Pillage to the Nether Update – explore everything we’ve added to the game since we still called it Cave Game. 

Minecraft announces game drops

A "Minecraft game drop" is a themed, smaller content update that releases between major annual updates. Instead of one large update per year, Mojang now releases multiple "drops" throughout the year to provide content more frequently, keeping the game fresh and interesting. These drops vary in size and focus on a specific theme, adding things like new mob variants, decorative blocks, and items.

Learn more about game drops

Explore past Minecraft game updates

The Wild Update

Explore the deep dark – but evade the wardens! Meet frogs and allays, add chests to boats or build with sculk, mud, and mangrove wood.

Caves and Cliffs Part II

Increased world height makes for higher mountains, and updated terrain makes for elaborate cave systems with larger ore veins!

Caves and Cliffs Part I

Go underwater to team up with the axolotl and meet the glow squid. Tread carefully on higher ground because the goats might ram you! Build copper structures that age over time. 

Nether Update

Stronger materials, scarier biomes, and snoutier mobs bring the heat to an already fiery dimension. Explore, barter, and battle! 

Buzzy Bees

Discover how bees breathe life into their surroundings, bringing speedier crop growth, homey hives, and sticky honey!

Village & Pillage

Discover villages across different biomes, with job sites, buildings, and trade opportunities – then defend them from new threats!

Update Aquatic

Explore new ocean biomes, shipwrecks, ruins, and more secrets. Meet aquatic mobs and discover everything that awaits you underwater.

World of Color

Turn your builds technicolor with a fresh take on all the colored blocks in Minecraft. Craft glazed terracotta, dye beds, and more.

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Frequently Asked Questions

We release new features into Minecraft several times a year for free in what we call game drops.  Simply update your game to the latest version to play them!

Game drops are more frequent releases of new Minecraft content. Instead of providing one free update during the summer, as we’ve done in the past, we’ll now be releasing a number of free game drops throughout the year.

Game drops began in 2023 with Bats and Pots – and since then have continued with The Garden Awakens, Chase the Skies, Mounts of Mayhem, and more! Game drops include content such as new biomes, mobs, items, weapons, music, blocks, and other features.

Vibrant Visuals is Minecraft’s biggest visual refresh to date. Released in June 2025 for Bedrock Edition, we are currently working on bringing Vibrant Visuals to Minecraft: Java Edition.

Yes, game drops and game updates release on the same day for both Bedrock and Java Edition. The exception is Vibrant Visuals, which released for Bedrock Edition in June 2025. We are working to bring Vibrant Visuals fully to Java Edition in the future.