Minecraft Live reveals sneak peek of Minecraft 1.20

We’ve all been patiently waiting for the reveal of the next big title update to Minecraft, the big Minecraft 1.20! Plenty of theories and guesses have been floating around, from an overhaul of the End dimension to a archeology themed update, The community has had lots of good and interesting ideas for the future of the game.

Yesterday however, developers at Mojang Studios aired their long running conference, Minecraft Live! In this presentation, along with updates to Minecraft Dungeons and more news on the upcoming title Minecraft Legends, They revealed our first look at the upcoming content for Minecraft Bedrock and Java edition! One thing to keep in mind, it seems Mojang has learned their lesson from the reveal of the Caves and Cliffs update, and in an effort to keep promises made, they have only shown off features that are guaranteed to make it in the next update, so what we’re seeing now, isn’t the sum of Minecraft 1.20, but just a small piece that they are willing to show at this point in time. With that out of  the way, here’s some things you can expect to make waves in the next Minecraft update;

The Sniffer

Nobody will be surprised to hear, this year's mob vote was swiped in a landslide victory by the Sniffer! Congratulations to anybody who wanted this mob in the game, and condolences go out to the Tuff Golemites and the Rascalheads out there. The Sniffer seems to be a passive mob which you will have to return from extinction. Ancient eggs will be found in underwater ruins, and can be cultivated into hatching your very own Sniffer! This creature sniffs the ground, and can produce an all new plant, the specifics of which, we’re yet to know about. It seems this creature will be about the size of a pig upon hatching from the egg, but may grow to the size of a ravager in adulthood! It’s unknown what else the creature can be used for, but I wouldn't bet on it being a mount, or a food source. Perhaps you’ll be able to shear their backs like sheep for another source of wool, or a new block entirely!

Player, Zuchii, has also pointed out the Sniffer looks awfully similar to the fossils already in the game, perhaps these mighty bones could’ve belonged to ancient sniffers before they went extinct, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

The Camel

Ever since the Desert got second place in the biome vote a few Minecraft Lives back, it’s felt left out, as other biomes receive updates and changes such as the tundra, mountains, and swamps. Luckily, it seems Minecraft 1.20 will seek to rectify this with the addition of an all new mob, The Camel! The camel is a fairly large mob, standing around three blocks tall. The Camel is so tall in fact, shorter mobs such as Zombies and Husks won’t be able to reach you when mounted on top! 

The Camel will be slower than horses, but to compensate for this, it will have a mighty dashing ability to help you cross large ravines or rivers. On top of this, it actually has room for two players! This makes it the first and only method of land transportation that can support two players at once, unless you count rowing your boat on land as land transportation that is.

New Default Playermodels

At Minecraft’s inception, everything a player saw was seen through the eyes of the default playermodel, Steve! We all know and love him, and recently his, as well as the later added Alex’s skins were updated and changed for the first time in ten years! This seemed a little out of the blue until the announcement at this Minecraft Live. 

Minecraft 1.20 will be implementing seven brand new default playermodels. With a wide range of skin tones, hair colors, and styles, Mojang hopes this inclusion will make the game more inclusive to all audiences, which is nice to see. However I don’t see this implementation doing much, as almost all Minecraft players rock a custom skin, either on they downloaded off the internet, or made for themselves, But maybe you’ll bump paths with a few of these new faces in Minecraft 1.20!

Hanging Signs

Mojang is always looking for new ways to add decoration and intrigue to your builds. In this upcoming update, expect to see the beautiful Hanging Signs! These signs, unlike our current signs, can be hung from the bottom or the side of blocks and fences, giving a very nice effect, exemplified by the chains holding them up. Also something that differentiates these from already existing signs is the crafting recipe. These Hanging Signs will require chains and stripped wood to craft, giving them a richer appearance. 

Personally, I'm hoping they make the crafting recipe for chains a little cheaper in this update. As remember, as it currently stands, a single chain block costs the player one iron ingot and two iron nuggets. Hopefully they’ll make the recipe grant you multiple chains at once, much like how the recipe for iron bars will grant you sixteen bars for just six iron. Either way, these new signs will be an incredible way to add life to your builds, especially townships and city streets!

Bamboo Wood

Everybody loves a new wood type in the game, the more, the better. In Minecraft 1.20, Mojang is doing things a little bit differently. Bamboo Wood is making its way into the game! This will be crafted using the existing bamboo crops found in jungles. This wood type comes with everything you'd expect, Slabs, stairs, doors, trapdoors, boats, but it also comes with a brand new block type, called Bamboo Mosaic! This block forms a beautiful pattern that looks like a traditional basket weave. I can already tell this block type will look incredible in a forest environment, and even will have a place in modern style builds!

Chiseled Bookshelf

Finally, Probably my favorite feature shown off at this Minecraft Live is something so subtle, but holds a lot of potential for just about every kind of player. Chiseled Bookshelves will be fully functional bookshelves, being regular books, enchanted books, books and quills, this bookshelf can hold it for you in exactly a way you’d expect it to. Simply click the spot on the shelf in which you’d like to place your book, and the texture will update to reflect your choice! We’re not certain on how this new block will be crafted, or if it will have any other uses, say, in redstone contraptions, but I’m excited for this block, and excited to see what it has in store!

Minecraft Dungeons

On October 19th, Minecraft Dungeons will receive a free update including penguins and hedgehogs! The update is seasonal and appears to be based on pets. Aswell as this, the Tower mode will be receiving coop support in this update.

Minecraft Legends

A large amount of coverage for the upcoming game, Minecraft Legends, releasing in spring of 2023. Firstly, the terrain of the game is going to be procedurally generated, much like how worlds are in Minecraft Bedrock and Java edition! This will most likely make the game much more replayable and interesting in the long term. The world is made of biomes, such as jungles and badlands. A lot of mobs are making their way into the game, including the winner of the previous mob vote, the Allay! I’m pretty excited for this game’s release and it’s nice to get just a little more information on it today!

In closing, the information on Minecraft 1.20 was a bit lacking compared to previous years, but I think this is actually a good thing, it looks like the team at Mojang is buckling down and really focusing on the quality of this next update, as everything shown off is quite exciting! I can’t wait to get more information on upcoming features, and when I do, check right back here for all of your Minecraft 1.20 news!