Microsoft announces the next major update for the Windows 10 and Pocket editions of Minecraft, which will finally get a fresh batch of redstone contraptions.

Fans went all 2015 without seeing a major update for Minecraft, with developer Jeb Bergensten eventually confirming that the update would be pushed to 2016 so that the studio had more time to address various bugs. Whilst it wasn't the greatest news for Minecraft fans to hear, it meant that other editions of the game have had some time to play catch up. Fans who like to craft from the Windows 10 Edition Beta and Minecraft Pocket Edition will be happy to hear that a new update is poised to arrive by the end of February.

The new version is being called the Overworld update, and it contains plenty of long-awaited additions that have featured in the main Minecraft edition for some time, including the majority of redstone-based mechanical contraptions, cauldrons, and even trapped chests. While these items can certainly be used in the Nether as well, we're sure many fans won't get stuck on the literal interpretation of the update's name.

Here's a list of the additions that February's Overworld Update will bring to Minecraft Pocket Edition and the Windows 10 Edition Beta:

  • Various Redstone contraptions (comparators, repeaters, dispensers, droppers, and hoppers)
  • Trapped Chests
  • New Minecart types
  • Witches (and their pre-built huts)
  • Cauldrons
  • Armor Dyes
  • Item Frames
  • Slim Blocks
  • Wearable Pumpkins
  • Red Sandstone

The update will also introduce the ability to easily import and export maps with the Windows 10 Edition Beta, which means gamers will have a much easier time showing off some of their more ambitious creations. The focus on shareability goes along with the Windows 10 Edition's ability to utilize a built in DVR system, and certainly makes sharing maps an easier process than creation tools like Forge Mode in Halo 5.

Those playing on Windows 10 will also be able to rack up 170 more gamescore, since the Overworld update will add 8 new achievements to the fold.

Take a look at the new achievements - and how to get them - below:

  • Camouflage: Kill a mob while wearing the same type of mob head.
  • Dispense With This: Construct a dispenser.
  • Tie Dye Outfit: Dye all 4 unique pieces of leather armor.
  • Map Room: Place 9 fully explored, adjacent maps into 9 item frames in a 3 by 3 square.
  • Trampoline Bounce: 30 blocks upward off of a slime block.
  • Freight Station: Use a Hopper to move an item from a Chest Minecart to a Chest.
  • Smelt Everything: Connect 3 Chests to a single Furnace using 3 Hoppers.
  • Taste of Your Own Medicine: Poison a witch with a splash potion.

While the values for each specific achievement haven't been confirmed as of yet, it looks like Microsoft has been hard at work updating both editions for the second time since November. We'll keep you posted when the full release date of the update is confirmed.

The same goes for the main edition of the game, and teachers looking for the upcoming Education Edition still have a few months to go, too.

The Minecraft Overworld update is slated for a late February release.

Source: Microsoft