Winter Drop and a New Dimension

At Minecraft Live, the developers revealed the Winter Drop, the game's next major update. Its main themes will be cold, ice caves, and new underground adventures.

But the biggest announcement was a new dimension — the Sift. It will be coming to Minecraft Java and Bedrock and will be the first new dimension in more than 14 years.

Winter Drop

The update will introduce a new underground biome called Ice Caves. Their generation is similar to the familiar Lush and Dripstone Caves, but they are almost entirely made up of frozen blocks.

Main features:

• New Ice Caves biome
• Large amounts of ice underground
• Calcite blocks
• New Icicles
• Ice Crystals
• New Zombie variant
• Freezing effect

Ice Caves

Ice Caves will generate underground. Inside, players will find large amounts of ice, Calcite, and new decorative blocks.

• The walls are made of Packed Ice with patches of Calcite.
• Snow and Ice Crystals generate on the ground.
• Icicles hang from the ceiling.
• Stone, Deepslate, and various ores can be found inside.
• Underground water does not freeze.
• Icicles can fall and damage mobs.
• With Vibrant Visuals enabled, dense volumetric fog appears, similar to the fog in Sulfur Caves.

Thanks to the crystals, some parts of the caves will be illuminated even without Torches. They can also be used to decorate builds.

Ice Crystals

A new light source that naturally generates in Ice Caves.

• Emits a soft light.
• Does not melt regular Ice or Icicles.

Icicles

A new block that generates in clusters in Ice Caves.

• Generates on cave ceilings.
• Falls when a light source is nearby.

Frozen Zombie

A new frozen Zombie variant will appear in Ice Caves.

Features:

• Can attack in both melee and ranged combat.
• Applies the Freezing effect when attacking.
• Can use Ice Balls for ranged attacks.

Because of the Freezing effect, battles in the caves will become more challenging. Players will have to deal with not only regular mob damage, but also the effects of the cold.

Ice Balls

Ice Balls will be added to the game alongside the new mob. Some Frozen Zombies will be able to throw them at players.

• Applies the Freezing effect on hit.
• A Frozen Zombie has a 50% chance of spawning with an Ice Ball in its hand.

Freezing Effect and Potion

The Winter Drop will also introduce a new effect — Freezing. Players will be able to get the effect while fighting the new Zombie variant or by using a potion.

• The potion is brewed using an Ice Ball.
• The Freezing effect gradually freezes the player.
• The effect can be prevented by wearing at least one piece of Leather Armor.

New Sift Dimension

The biggest announcement from Minecraft Live was the new Sift dimension. It will appear not only in Minecraft Dungeons II, but also in the main Minecraft game. It will be Minecraft's first completely new dimension in more than 14 years. The Sift will join the existing Overworld, Nether, and End.

• The Sift will become Minecraft's fourth dimension.
• It will be available in Java Edition.
• It will be available in Bedrock Edition.
• Its release is planned for 2027.
• The dimension will have its own mobs.
• The first glimpse of the new dimension was shown during Minecraft Live.

The Sift in Minecraft Dungeons II

Players will be able to explore the new dimension earlier in Minecraft Dungeons II. The Sift will be one of the worlds featured in the new game.

• Minecraft Dungeons II releases on September 29, 2026.
• Players will be able to explore the Sift themselves.
• The dimension will feature its own creatures.
• The Sift will later be added to the main Minecraft game.

This means Minecraft Dungeons II will be the first opportunity to explore the new dimension in detail before it arrives in Java and Bedrock Edition.

New Blocks, Items, and Mobs

So far, the following features have been confirmed for the Winter Drop:

• Ice Caves — a new underground biome.
• Ice Crystal — a new block.
• Icicles — new features found in Ice Caves.
• Ice Ball — a new item.
• Potion of Freezing — a new potion.
• Frozen Zombie — a new mob variant.
• Freezing — a new effect.

The developers will reveal more information about the Winter Drop and the Sift dimension later. So far, only the first features of the update have been shown.