Minecraft Live 2022 has wrapped, which means it’s time for a recap! And not a moment too soon, because the show didn’t include a single plug for my one-writer show, Mine! All Mine: A Solo Crafter’s Soliloquy, even though I’ve hand delivered multiple handwritten requests. Next year I will be enlisting the help of Look Mum No Computer, but I suspect that after that incredible display of LEGO Minecraft soundscapes, I am going to have to get in line. Let’s not waste any more time on pleasantries and finger-pointing, it’s time to dive into all the wonderful things that were announced in this year’s show! 

MINECRAFT 1.20

Agnes Larsson, Chi Wong, and Nir Vaknin took the stage to show off the camel mob, hanging signs, chiseled bookshelves, and crafting with bamboo: four new features that are included in the next Minecraft update! As a writer, I am quite biased in my excitement for both functional bookshelves and hanging signs, as this means more material to write on and more places to store said writing. My Minecraft Magnum M’Opus can now take the shape of shelf-friendly books as well as both standing and hanging signs, all of them more misleading than the last! And with a mob that has space for two, I can now make sure to trot by them on my camel together with each reader I trick into coming welcome to my realm. Now I just need to keep the bamboo raft a secret so they can’t sail away before they read all 275 chapters. We’ll keep that part between us, alright? 

The team didn't reveal their full plan or final name for the upcoming update, Minecraft 1.20, right away as we have in previous years. This time, we will be gradually announcing all the things that are coming to your Overworld in the next update. In only a matter of days, you will be able to test and send feedback on early iterations of the camel, hanging signs, and bamboo crafting in snapshots and betas! 

You can access snapshots for Java Edition by enabling them in the “Installations” tab in the launcher, and you can find the instructions for joining betas for Bedrock Edition here. If you haven’t played with snapshots or betas before, keep your eyes on our channels, because I predict that we will be discussing the hows and whens of this process a lot! 

NEW DEFAULT SKINS

The Minecraft gameplay team had another surprise up their collective sleeves – seven new default skins! Makena, Efe, Noor, Kai, Ari, Sunny, and Zuri will be joining Alex and Steve in the Minecraft Launcher and Dressing Room. Whether you play with default skins, make your own, or change it up depending on your mood – now you have more options to choose from! 

Eagle-eyed viewers will recognize Sunny, Efe, and Noor from The Wild Update trailers. Just like Steve and Alex, these skins will help us shape our storytelling, just as they can help you with yours. The new default skins will be available in Minecraft later this year!

MINECRAFT LEGENDS

Minecraft Legends, the latest game to join our blocky roster, was announced earlier this year and we got a first look behind the scenes! Our own Magnus Nedfors, Kevin Grace, Telemachus Stavropoulus, and Anna Wendelin alongside Blackbird Interactive’s Lee McKinnon Pedersen and Peter Gahn took us on a deep dive about what it means to be a legend of the Overwold, as well as a 4 player co-op live demo that showed off the lush landscapes and piglin-packed gameplay. And as if that wasn’t enough, they showed off the rampage cinematic that sets the entire game in motion! 

Jens Bergensten was kind enough to give us a tour of the Legends Overworld, where he introduced us to some of his old friends! And as a special treat, we not only got to meet but also hear the first speaking mobs, the three hosts: Knowledge, Action, and Foresight. And did you see those regal tigers?! I need to secure my spot as the Premiere Cat Lady of Legends as soon as it launches. 

Speaking of the Minecraft Legends launch date – another exciting announcement from the team was, well... the launch date! I hope you’re ready to take on the piglins to save the Overworld, because it’s confirmed that Minecraft Legends will be coming to a platform near you in Spring 2023!  

MINECRAFT DUNGEONS

Laura De Llorens, Vu Bui, JP Johansson, and Kelsey Howard gave us a recap of all the features that have been added to Minecraft Dungeons over the past two and half years. Time sure flies by when you’re having fun, climbing a tower, and fighting for survival! 

They also looked into the future and revealed lots of exciting stuff coming soon. Like the seasonally spooky Halloween content that is coming this month! It’s so spooky, that the Hungriest Horror Armor set and the free Cloaked Armor Set will be haunting Minecraft Marketplace. Plus, they announced the Minecraft Dungeons Heroes Skin Pack, the first skin pack cross-over between these two worlds! Now you can follow my example, dress up as Hal in Minecraft and live every day like it’s Halloween. 

We also got a first-hand look at the new multiplayer mode for the Tower and a peek at Season 3: Fauna Faire! On October 19, a whole slew of new flairs, pets, skins, emotes, and free content is coming to Minecraft Dungeons, including the Phantom Familiar. It is only fitting that this terrifying pet was announced at Minecraft Live, the same event where the first phantom was voted into Minecraft. We need to move on to the next segment before I start thinking about it swooping over me and I go hide under my bed...

MINECRAFT MARKETPLACE

A bunch of exciting DLC titles are coming to Minecraft Marketplace! The caped crusader is taking a break from his usual haunts (sorry not sorry, Gotham!) to save the Overworld in the Batman DLC brought to you by DC and Noxcrew. As you explore iconic locations like the Batcave, Wayne Tower, and the Monarch Theater, you will face off against the Penguin, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn, to name but a few villains itching for a fight. Every hero needs help, so you’re going to have to swoop in and possibly even outshine the Dark Knight in your free character creator set! 

When you’re not brooding and batting through the sky, you can bundle up for the Frozen Planet II DLC! This five-part adventure from the Minecraft: Education Edition team in collaboration with BBC Earth will launch in tandem with the much-anticipated BBC series of the same name. You can play as creatures such as a walrus, polar bear, eagle, and more, as you make your way through frozen biomes and across snow-covered peaks. 

All five of the Frozen Planet maps and the Batman DLC will be released on October 18! 

MINECRAFT CREATOR TOOLS

A wise, bespectacled man once mused that even though we could do something, does that mean we should? I don’t remember how that turned out, so I am assuming everything turned out well and no dinosaurs went on any rampages. And speaking of amazing creatures, now you can make your very own ones with the Minecraft Entity Wizard in Blockbench! 

All you need to do is dream up a mob, any mob. Even one that isn’t so much from a dream than it is a nightmare. Then, build it! Or if you want to leave it all to chance, you can recklessly randomize one. You can end up just about anything, including a mash-up of a dolphin that thinks it’s a phantom, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

The Mob Vote Winner

This year, the sniffer, the tuff golem, and the rascal faced off in a real nail-biter of a race! The mob vote moved to the Minecraft Launcher, Minecraft.net, and a special Bedrock Edition carnival server. Over 3.5 million votes were cast, thank you all for joining in and making this impossible choice for us! 

The community has spoken and your winner is – 

The extinct mob adorably known as the sniffer will join Minecraft after receiving just over half the vote! Explore underwater ruins to find its eggs hidden away in chests, bring them up to the surface, and hatch your very own baby sniffer. When the sniffer grows up, it will help you find ancient seeds that you can grow into different decorative plants. Since the sniffer was once extinct, you are able help it thrive in the Overworld both by hatching its eggs and through breeding. And once more, the sniff-balance has been restored with your new victor’s cuteness countering the warden’s terrifying tell-tale sniff! 

That brings us to the end of this year’s Minecraft Live, and you may be asking yourself how I am able to deliver such moving and award-worthy reporting each year? Since you’ve been such a captive audience, I will tell you – I have the best seat in the house. Around a month before the show starts, I position myself at the top of the rafters so I can observe the action like a predatory bird. You just pick up so much more subtext when you can only see the top of everyone’s head. I’ll leave the entire show right here so you can watch it with this in mind. 

Thank you for tuning in to Minecraft Live 2022, and congratulations for also reading about it! As a reward for your dedication, you can help me get down from these rafters. Wait. Where are you going? This isn’t a bit!