Announced back in October last year, Minecraft's Caves and Cliffs update will be one of its biggest yet, restructuring the game's worlds with new caves, huge mountains, and several fresh blocks. The upcoming batch of content is so ambitious that it seems Mojang needs a little longer than expected to pull it off, posting a new video today to announce that it's splitting the update in half.
The first batch of Caves and Cliffs content will arrive this Summer, bringing all the features that don't focus on restructuring Minecraft's world. The second update will then follow suit this Holiday, bringing the world-generation aspects that need a little longer in the oven. Mojang also confirms that one advertised feature won't crop up in either update, with archaeology allegedly being pushed back to 2022 so the team can give it the time it deserves.
As for why this decision was made, the team says it's a matter of quality control, technical challenge, and team wellbeing. Caves and Cliffs is a huge undertaking, with Mojang wanting to ensure it lives up to expectations without risking the health of its staff. As for what will be coming this Summer, the team claims that a host of new mobs will join the game, including goats, axolotls, and glow squids.
It'll also feature a ton of new blocks, including dripstone, glowberries, deepslate, and more. There will be small amounts of world generation included, with the video claiming it will add copper ore to the world and form geodes. It will essentially set the stage for the Holiday update, which will almost exclusively center on these world-generation features, including the new cave systems, mountains, and an increase in world height. Mojang has also made it clear that these new additions will still be accessible via old worlds, so those who frequently play on their favorite save won't have to start fresh when Caves and Cliffs rolls around.
Overall, the update definitely sounds worth the wait, adding plenty of highly-requested new features to the iconic experience. Minecraft continues to be a behemoth in the gaming scene, boasting millions of players who play each and every day. Caves and Cliffs is sure to continue offering those players new ways to experiment with the title, whether that's using its added biome blocks to create gardens or experimenting with its implementation of dripstone. Neither update currently has a firm release date, although it's wise to imagine part 1 will be on its way in a few months' time.
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