After Bundles of Bravery, Minecraft’s Next Update is Due for a Tone Shift

Mojang is transitioning to a new structure for its Minecraft updates, one that allows for more small content drops that can each be better fleshed out. In particular, it’d be great to see this approach geared towards an update that errs away from exploration and combat and towards Minecraft‘s cozier side.

Prior to September’s Minecraft Live, Mojang announced that Minecraft updates would be revised. Now, rather than one big update per year, Mojang plans to release multiple small updates in a year. Armored Paws, released back in April, proved to be the perfect testing ground for this; the update introduced a small batch of strong features, all of which were strongly interlinked with community feedback and ideas.

After Bundles of Bravery And The Pale Garden, Minecraft Should Get Back To Its Roots

The first two updates under this structure were announced this past Minecraft Live, and they both follow the game’s trend towards combat and exploration. Bundles of Bravery, which was released on October 22, finally introduced the Bundle; though this inventory-management item is useful to all players, it could be argued that it primarily benefits adventurous players with inventories overflowing with a broad range of items. After Bundles of Bravery will come the Pale Garden and its Creaking mob which, while introducing a suite of new decorative blocks, frames itself as a horror experience, influenced by old tales of Herobrine.

Both of these Minecraft updates continue encouraging adventure and combat, which has been the trend for updates since 2020’s The Nether Update (and arguably even longer). This is partially down to the demands of Minecraft‘s community, with many fans interested in longer progression, more things to fight, and more ways to fight them. However, while the changes that continue to come to exploration, progression, and combat are welcome, the fandom is seeing a shift back towards the cozy, construction-centered gameplay that much of the game’s player base focuses on.

Minecraft’s New Update Structure Should Bring In A Wave Of Cozy Updates

It’s fallacious to see Minecraft‘s updates as a monolith, as just about every update rolls out a mix of new blocks, new decorative items, new mobs, new biomes, etc. Likewise, there are few fans who dedicate themselves entirely to one pillar of gameplay. Nonetheless, many recent updates still cater to the combat and exploration aspects of the title more than areas like building and farming.

Less intensive activities such as these, especially farming, haven’t been the main focus of an update in some time. Last year’s Minecraft Mob Vote, which saw a fierce struggle between the Crab and the Armadillo, was a testament to this—with the Crab’s claw item being a building aid, something that many fans see as long overdue. More tools for building, more ways to decorate, and more ways to engage in cozy, repeated activities like farming and terraforming would be a good way to keep players who prefer those aspects engaged.

Though there is a side of the fandom that prefers progression-based play and envisions a version of the game more like Terraria, the game’s core audience errs towards a more comfortable way of play. This isn’t to say that any way of playing Minecraft is more or less valid, but it’s important to prop up the game’s core building mechanics to keep it thriving.

Tools, Paint, And New Crops Would All Be Good Aspects To Explore

To best support Minecraft‘s cozy building elements, an obvious direction would be new blocks and decorative items. Though this would be great, Mojang should consider implementing more ways to engage in this side of the game. New tools for easier building (akin to scaffolding) or entirely new ways to decorate, such as painting or statue furnishings, would be solid moves. Furthermore, new crops and farming methods could really add some spice.