Minecraft‘s new approach to updates still has ways to go to fully prove itself, and 2025 will be a make-or-break year for this structure. When and where in the year these smaller updates will come isn’t set in stone, so it’s worth speculating on how long fans will need to wait until the next Minecraft drop.
Soon after the release of Tricky Trials, Mojang revealed a new plan for Minecraft‘s updates. Given how much acclaim was drawn from the Armored Paws update, which broke the Armadillo and Wolf Armor from 1.21 into a separate mini-drop, Mojang has decided to make small updates the norm. While the studio has been no stranger to releasing additional, small-scale content drops alongside major expansions, each year is now primed to receive multiple minor updates.
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Minecraft’s Next Update Will Likely Arrive Sooner Than Fans Expect
The release of Minecraft‘s The Garden Awakens update has cemented 2024 as a titanic year for the game. Minecraft saw four updates this year—even if some releases were much bigger than others. When Mojang first announced this new structure, many fans didn’t think anything would manifest until 2025, considering how much had come from Armored Paws and Tricky Trials. However, the rapidity of new drops in 2024 really cemented how fast these updates can come. With that in mind, there’s ample ground for fans to speculate on Mojang’s next move.
Minecraft Updates Are Coming Fast, And They’re Not All As Big As The Garden Awakens
The gap between Minecraft‘s first updates under this new structure, Bundles of Bravery and The Garden Awakens, was 42 days—just over a month. Given this information, it’s not unlikely that the next Minecraft update could come in early 2025. In fact, it’s quite plausible; while most don’t expect every content drop to have quite as brief a space between them, a February or March release would line up well with what’s been established.
Moreover, another reason why fans may want to expect another update sooner rather than later is size. In the original post where Mojang detailed the new update structure, 1.20.3 (an extremely minor patch that changed bats and decorative pots) was called a ‘first trial’ for the new drop structure. This update was incredibly small in terms of content, though its slight changes were nonetheless welcome. If drops of this size are considered by Mojang as possible fair for one of these small drops, then it’s somewhat likely that something piecemeal could come fast.
February Still Seems A Bit Too Early, However
On the other hand, Minecraft‘s small update trend is one that severely risks oversaturation if overplayed. If Mojang continued the trend of releasing new content every other month, that would lead to six updates in a year—a number that would likely be unhealthy for both the team and the game’s longevity. Even if none of these updates are larger than The Garden Awakens in scope, it would still be better to allow everyone some time to breathe—making March or April far more reasonable goalposts.
Moreover, it’s important to consider how some of 2024’s new Minecraft content manifested. In particular, Bundles of Bravery was something of a black sheep. Bundles and Hardcore mode on Bedrock are both features that have been in the works for years, making that update more of a way to tie up loose ends. Future updates, in the vein of The Garden Awakens, will be working from more of a clean slate, meaning the gap between the first two mini-updates may be less realistic when applied to Mojang’s future plans. Again, late March or early April both seem like solid candidates when speculating.
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