Minecraft 1.20: Release Date & All We Know

Here's what we know about the Minecraft 1.20 update!

Dylan Crosbie
Dylan Crosbie - Minecraft Expert
22 Min Read

Mojang has decided to do things a little differently this year. After 1.19 was split into two updates: The Cave and Cliffs and The Wild Updates, Mojang decided to work with the community to develop the 1.20 Update. While the theme has been decided on, Mojang hasn’t titled it, nor did they announce all the new features. Instead, they plan on getting community feedback throughout the process and ensuring that this update is more “Minecraftier” than ever.

However, as always, there’s been a backlash from the Minecraft Community over the emphasis on community engagement. For example, their community page is insanely outdated, and the only effective channel for community engagement seems to be Twitter.

During the same live event, Mojang mentioned their new game, Minecraft Legends, which adds to the lore of Minecraft and might influence the 1.20 update.

Regardless, let’s dive in and explore everything we learned about the Minecraft 1.20 update from Minecraft Live, what we could expect, and the release date.

Minecraft 1.20 – The Untitled Update

“Introducing Minecraft 1.20, designed to inspire self-expression, representation, and storytelling through your Minecraft worlds!”@Minecraft.

For those who watched Minecraft Live on Saturday, the 15th of October, the event was excellent, and a ton of new information was released regarding Minecraft Legends and Dungeons Season 3. However, the event didn’t unveil much regarding the next Minecraft update: Minecraft 1.20.

Instead, the Game Director Agnes Larsson announced that Mojang would be working with the community to develop a nostalgic and relatable update for all players. Agnes opened the section with the following:

I’d love to take some time to talk about what we learnt from previous years. Because we had announced some features that we didn’t manage to deliver. And it’s important that we learn from that and that we take action from that.

Here Agnes is referring to the previous Caves and Cliffs update that needed to be divided into two sections due to missed targets and complex coding.

This year we will only show features that have come very very far in the development process.

She also added:

So this year, we think we’ll have the time to really iterate on the features, together with the community of course.

Minecraft 1.20 Release Date

While there is no title or official release date for the complete Minecraft 1.20 update, we expect to see these features sometime between June and July 2023.

Agnes announced that these new features will be available soon in future snapshots! So we no longer have to wait months before seeing these new developments filtering into snapshots and beta versions of Minecraft 1.20.

“This year you will actually be able to play-test the new features in betas, snapshots, and previews just a few days from now.” @LadyAgnes

Update: You can already explore the new features through the Java snapshot 22w42a and the Bedrock Minecraft Preview 1.19.50.21.

Previous Minecraft Release Dates

We can assume that the update will be released between June and July 2023 as that’s been the previous trend for updates. Other than a few outliers, for the past 6 years, Minecraft has released full updates around June or July.

UpdateTitleRelease Date
1.8Bountiful UpdateSeptember 2, 2014
1.9Combat UpdateFebruary 29, 2016
1.10Frostburn UpdateJune 8, 2016
1.11Exploration UpdateNovember 14, 2016
1.12World of Color UpdateJune 7, 2017
1.13Update AquaticJuly 18, 2018
1.14Village & PillageApril 23, 2019
1.15Buzzy BeesDecember 10, 2019
1.16Nether UpdateJune 23, 2020
1.17Caves & Cliffs: Part IJune 8, 2021
1.18Caves & Cliffs: Part 2November 30, 2021
1.19The Wild UpdateJune 7, 2022
A table of previous Minecraft update releases

Why Does Minecraft 1.20 Update Not Have a Name?

The Jungle Update? The Deep Dark Dimension Update? The Desert Update? Well, as of now, Minecraft 1.20 currently does not have a name! So, until Mojang announces a title at a future date, we’ll refer to Minecraft 1.20 as the untitled update.

During the Minecraft Live event 2022, Mojang announced that there’s no name because more features are still in the works. As new features are released through snapshots, the community will be allowed to test new features. Doing so will allow Mojang to shape the updates according to the community feedback.

Not putting a label on the update just yet and be restricted by the name in the future.

Mojang and the Community

The idea of working with the Minecraft community isn’t such a bad idea. While Mojang can’t take features and ideas directly from the community, sharing snapshots and images and getting feedback is a good way forward. In addition, Minecraft 1.20 may be the first update in a long time that includes features that the majority of the community has been asking for.

For example, as we’ll discuss later, camels were added to the game that provided PvE advantages and answered the community calls for new mounts.

Kingbdogz, a popular member of the Mojang Minecraft team, tweeted the following shortly after Minecraft Live:

“The Wild Update for many was not wild enough, and if we had known that we would spend more time to refine the Ancient Cities as a result of player feedback, we probably wouldn’t have named it that. Now we have a good chance to name it something fitting for the content inside.” @kingbdogz

Minecraft 1.20: New Features

Now that we know where the Minecraft team from Mojang stands let’s take a closer look at the new features introduced. These include new default skins, new blocks, new mobs, and more.

Default Skins

Default Skins
Image via Mojang

The Minecraft 1.20 section of the event kicked off with the announcement of new default skins. These skins include a variety of skin tones as well as a character with a prosthetic arm.

The feature was added to ensure more community members feel represented in the default Vanilla world. In addition, it looks like many skin options were pulled from Minecraft Dungeons, which keeps the continuity in the Mojang Universe.

Many players don’t see the point of offering new default skins, as skins are easily customized. Even when playing on Bedrock, selecting a different skin in the store is not hard.

The skins have been released, and you can now find them in your Minecraft launcher. Navigate to the skins tab at the top of the launcher and pick the one that suits you best.

Minecraft launcher showing new default Minecraft skins
My Minecraft skin among the new default skins

Toolbox Mode (Unverified)

Toolbox Mode

Please note that the following was not announced during Minecraft Live and is rather unverified news sourced from a reputable source on Twitter.

If you’ve been following Minecraft 1.20 news on Twitter, you might have seen this tweet from @SmokeyStack. He’s a data miner and has recently discovered some code already in the Minecraft snapshots. The code reveals that there’s most likely going to be an editor mode added to the game. In addition, it’ll add powerful tools to the game intended for experienced players. It sounds like it’ll be some toolbox mode.

New Creative GUI

The New Creative User Interface
The New Creative User Interface

The latest snapshot shows that the Minecraft Developers have reorganized the Creative Mode GUI. The brewing tab has been removed along with the transportation tab. Instead, you can find tabs like crafting and natural blocks.

It’s important to note that the user interface isn’t complete yet and that developers as still playing around with how the blocks should be organized within tabs.

Bedrock Spectator Mode (Unverified)

Mojang is finally testing spectator mode for Minecraft Bedrock – seen in early previews and Minecraft Now April.

The mode will allow Bedrock players to see through blocks and move freely throughout the world – even through solid blocks. This isn’t a new feature for Java, so we can deficiently expect it to become a feature in the 1.20 update.

Bedrock Custom Shields

During an Ask Mojang holiday special, Jeb announced that their are plans for both custom shields and banners to come to Minecraft Bedrock. However, he didn’t speculate when we can expect to see these two items.

That said, we really hope that we’ll see both banners and shields in the Minecraft Bedrock 1.20 update.

Jungle Villages (Unverified)

With the new bamboo blocks, there’s a chance that we’ll see Jungle Villages come to Minecraft. After all, we know that there’s a village type for the Jungle, yet no villages spawn naturally.

Now, with the new blocks announced, we may see villages constructed from bamboo. Perhaps we’ll even get special houses or structures that suit the jungle biome (such as the desert village towers).

We hope that while they’re at it, they may include other villages in new biomes such as the mangrove swamp.

New Mobs in Minecraft 1.20

Two new mobs have been announced so far. These are the Sniffer (winner of the Mob Vote) and the Camel. We hope to see new mobs through the development process of Minecraft 1.20, but we’re pretty content with what we’ve seen so far.

The Sniffer

The Sniffer
Image Via Mojang

Winning 55.1% of the communities votes, the Sniffer won this year’s Mob Vote. The mob is hugely popular, and community members have started making prototypes on BlockBench.

The Sniffer was once lost and considered an extinct mob (maybe the fossils we see in Minecraft?). It’s up to you, the player, to find their eggs in the ocean’s depths and revive the species. Chests in underwater ruins have a chance of holding Sniffer eggs which you can collect and help hatch. We can also assume that breeding these dinosaurs will be much easier once you have two Sniffers.

These ancient creatures are known for their horticultural skills and will help you find long-lost ancient seeds that you can nurture into new plants!

We can’t wait to learn more about the Sniffer, such as its history, how it went extinct, and what plants it will uncover.

Camels

Camels are the brand new mount in Minecraft. These animals that can leap ravines can carry two players at a time. So while the front player steers the camel, the back player is free to look around and fight off mobs.

The feature is beneficial when fighting off hoards of zombies or even zombie pigmen in the Nether. You see, the camel is tall enough that player-sized mobs can’t reach players on the back of the camel. We can only guess that the same can be said for players unless they have the sweeping edge enchantment or those using a bow.

Update: You can now play with camels in Minecraft Snapshot 22w42a – they’re much cuter than they looked during Minecraft Live.

New Mob Heads in Minecraft 1.20

Things will change a lot in Minecraft 1.20 especially the Mob Head, which we all know as no more than a decorative item that you can either put on the wall or on your head. Let’s have a closer look at it.

Mobs Heads Now Make Sound

Piglin Mob Head On a Note Block
Credits: Minecraft

Let’s jog your memory a little bit here by reminding you that to this day Mob Heads were pretty much useless. You picked them up to either put up on the wall or rock them on your head. But it will no longer be the case in the future because they will now serve a purpose.

We also remember the Note Block. The musical box which makes a sound when combined with other blocks placed on top of it. Now we can combine it with Mob Heads and the Note Block will make an ambient mob sound. The sound will be related to whichever Mob Head you have placed on the block.

Piglin Mob Head

Piglins Standing in A group
Credits: Mojang

The list of Mob Heads will also be refreshed in Minecraft 1.20 with the addition of the Piglin Mob Head. The method of getting it will be no different than other Mob Heads we already have in the game. Just make the Piglin go Kaboom with a Charged Creeper and upon its demise, it will drop the Piglin Mob Head.

You can use it to make a Piglin sound when placed on top of a Note Block. Another cool thing about this Mob Head is that it will wiggle its ears when worn or when powered using a Redstone.

New Blocks in Minecraft 1.20

Let’s move on to the new blocks we know will be added to Minecraft 1.20. These include a complete bamboo wood set, chiseled bookshelves, and hanging signs.

Bamboo Wood Set

Bamboo finally has another purpose other than scaffolding and breeding Pandas. Now, players can use this fast-growing plant as a source of wood. The set includes:

  • Bamboo Planks
  • Bamboo Stairs
  • Bamboo Fences
  • Bamboo Gates
  • Bamboo Trap Doors
  • Bamboo Doors
  • Bamboo Slabs

In addition, we can expect to see a new bamboo block called bamboo mosaic! This is the first of its kind and adds a fascinating pattern to the bamboo wood block. We’re excited to use this new block to make interesting floor patterns and more!

Rafts

Rafts parked outside a cabin
Youtube: Minuthu

Bamboo in Minecraft 1.20 has one more trick up its sleeve and that is rafts. Yes, we are now going to be able to travel through water using rafts made out of Bamboo. From the trailer, we can see that rafts have oars attached to them and that’s how they are going to move.

One of the rafts also has a storage box attached to it meaning we will have customization options for them. Though these are all the details we currently have on them it sure will be an exciting addition to the new update. We will update you as soon as we know more.

Chiseled Bookshelves

Next up, we have chiseled bookshelves. Finally – a way to store books that isn’t a chest. With a chiseled bookshelf, players can store up to six books in the block, including enchanted books and signed books.

We can see how this block directly ties into the concept of player stories and in-game narratives. We can now finally write about our journeys and store them in a library on our bases.

Additionally, the chiseled bookshelf will have unique Redstone capabilities, allowing players to build hidden bookcase entrances and more!

Hanging Signs

Say goodbye to blocky signs outside your shops and along your roads, and say hello to the hanging sign. Players can now craft signs that hang from blocks above using wood and chains.

There are three variations depending on how the sign is positioned. For example, side-hanging signs look different from those hanging from a fence post.

We’re excited to see what the building community can do with these signs and the colorful banners and walkways that can be built.

New Speculated Biomes in Minecraft 1.20

A classic Minecraft update wouldn’t be complete without a new biome. This year, Minecraft Live didn’t include a biome vote, meaning Mojang might be working on previous votes. We think that the two most likely biomes in Minecraft 1.20 will be:

  • Desert
  • Badlands

Desert Biome

While mountains in deserts have improved considerably, the biome itself seems outdated. During previous biome votes, the desert is said to include features like palm trees and meerkats.

We’ll likely see a desert biome update considering that their latest mob, the camel, fits right in.

Badlands

Another good guess would be the badlands. Tumbleweeds, vultures, and new cacti are included in this exciting biome. The reason why we guess that the badlands would be updated is due to the cacti.

These new plants look like they have fruit – prickly pears – which could be used to bread camels. In addition, perhaps the Sniffer would be able to sniff out these seeds, which we can then use to populate Badlands and Deserts.

The Downside of Minecraft 1.20

While we understand where Mojang is coming from when they say they don’t want to make promises they can’t keep, Minecraft 1.20 isn’t all good. During the live event, they announced that the update will slowly come out with new features so that they aren’t chasing an ambitious deadline. However, this is a pain in the neck for mod developers.

Constant minor version releases mean no long-term goal for the modding community to strive towards. In addition, their teams will have to work overtime as they constantly port their mods to new versions.

Minecraft Snapshot 22W42A
Image Via Twitter : @yungnickyoung

Final Thoughts

We can’t wait to get our hands on these features and share our opinions with our readers. These features will be available in Minecraft snapshots within a few days. You can expect to see feedback and reviews regularly added to this article.

And that’s all we know for now! The great thing about Minecraft 1.20 is that we can expect to see new features added throughout the year. So stay tuned to our article and Twitter feed to discover breaking news about Minecraft and more!

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By Dylan Crosbie Minecraft Expert
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Dylan is an avid Open World and Strategy game fan. His favorite content to cover include Minecraft and The Sims. His gaming interests along with his journalistic background, allows him to bring the best gaming content to your screens.
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