Mojang is changing the release pace of Minecraft updates in favor of more frequent content drops. This strategy shift was announced as part of a wider overview of the future of the game, which also saw Mojang tease some other changes to its Minecraft development practices.

The hit sandbox game has generally been receiving one major update per year for over half a decade by now. The latest such content drop debuted in June 2024 in the form of Minecraft's Tricky Trials update.

Mojang has now decided to shake things up a bit, having just committed to releasing Minecraft updates more frequently moving forward. Rather than having one content drop per year, usually during the summer, the company now plans to space out updates throughout each calendar year. These future releases will "vary in size," Minecraft Head Ryan Cooper wrote in a recent blog post dedicated to the future of the game's development. The executive also said that Mojang had already started experimenting with these smaller releases back in December 2023, when it turned decorated pots into working storage containers and made visual changes to bats. The follow-up April 2024 patch that included wolf variations, wolf armor, and armadillos was another one of these smaller updates that will become the norm moving forward.

Cooper's post also saw the Mojang official confirm that the work on the native PS5 version of Minecraft continues. This port has been available in preview since late June 2024, but still doesn't have a firm release window. Its development is inherently tied to Mojang's ambition to make the game as accessible and platform-agnostic as possible. To that end, the company will also look into ways to improve Minecraft multiplayer and facilitate the process of finding and connecting with friends over the next year, Cooper said.

Mojang Is Retiring Minecraft Mob Vote
Another big change that Mojang just confirmed concerns its handling of community feedback. Specifically, Minecraft's mob vote system is being retired in favor of "more focused" Minecraft Live broadcasts, which will now happen twice a year rather than just in October. The new livestream format will be primarily geared toward showcasing the game's upcoming features, announcing preview builds, and sharing other relevant news.

Cooper said that community suggestions will remain a big influence on the game, as was the case so far. That notwithstanding, it would appear that Mojang currently doesn't have plans to offer a direct replacement for the newly retired mob vote. Instead, the studio will simply keep collecting player suggestions via Minecraft's official feedback website for the time being.

Posted: Sep 12, 2024 9:21 pm
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: https://gamerant.com/minecraft-future-content-update-schedule-change-ps5-native-port/