Minecraft is slated to receive one of its biggest and most “ambitious” updates this year. The Cave & Cliffs update was based on the last Minecraft Live announced, and should fundamentally change the game. In addition to worked out mountains, generated worlds are to be expanded via varied cave systems and a large number of new blocks.
The developers of Mojang Studios have now announced that the Cave & Cliffs update will no longer appear as a single major update as planned, but will be available in two parts over the course of the year. In a blog post and a video message, the developers explained what the release should look like and why this decision was made.
Why does Caves & Cliffs appear in two parts?
The Minecraft community has long wanted the Caves & Cliffs content – the developers know that too. The team explained that they do not want to sacrifice quality and achieve the desired standard.
The technical complexity in particular is one of the greatest challenges the team is confronted with. The update is supposed to change the world generation fundamentally and affects all mountains and caves in the game. It is therefore extremely important to carefully check all eventualities that could arise with the embedding of the update.
Another important point that led to the separate release is the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The developers emphasize that the health of all employees comes first. Working in the home office and the resulting coordination of work steps would also delay the finalization of the update.
When does Caves & Cliffs appear?
The first part of the update should appear »this summer«. An exact date is not given. Part 1 focuses on “cute and funny” mobs, items, and new blocks.
Included in the first part of the update:
- New creatures: goat, Aolotl
- Crystals, binoculars, copper, amethyst, lightning rods, powder snow and more
The release date of the second part of the update is just as vague and was pushed back to the “Holiday Season” this year. Specifically, this means the pre-Christmas period, for which many other studios are also planning their game releases. Find out more about the new update in the official FAQ.