Minecraft's Caves And Cliffs Update Will Overhaul The Underground In 2021

As part of Minecraft Live 2020, Mojang has revealed a big update for Minecraft. The Caves & Cliff update is set for release in Summer 2021 and will greatly diversify the game's cave systems, ensuring they are more varied, with new, unique blocks and mobs to gather and fight, too.

With this update, caves will feature more varied interiors, with lush caves, dripstone caves, and crystal geode caves mentioned. The game will feature improved cave generation, so that interiors will have more variety--you will encounter more narrow tunnels, cave lakes, and different environments than before. A new archeology system is being implemented, so you can dig within caves for ruins and artifacts. Using a brush will let you extract fragile objects, while pretending that you're at the dig from the opening scene of Jurassic Park.

Players will also be able to encounter sculk sensor and stalactite/stalagmite blocks in the underground areas now. The sensors react to movement and emit a redstone signal, meaning that redstone can now be wireless. This should open up new possibilities for contraption builds.

You can check out the "first look" from Minecraft Live below. It's 44 minutes long, so expect a deep dive.

Copper ore will appear in caves following this update, too. These can be used in crafting to create various objects, including a lightning rod block. If you find geodes, you can harvest crystals for crafting too--you'll be able to build a telescope if you manage to find one. New mobs are being added to the game too, including the warden (which is, terrifyingly, able to track you in the dark) and the friendly Axolotl, which will help you out during fights.

As the update name suggests, cliffs are being overhauled, too. Mountain generation is being improved, and goats are coming to the game so that you can encounter them as you scale new heights. There are more changes coming, too, but we might have to wait to find out more about them.

This update will also introduce a useful new feature, called "bundle item". This lets you bundle multiple items in your inventory into a single space, making item management potentially easier and less cluttered.

The Caves & Cliff update will take longer than usual, so Minecraft won't receive its traditional holiday update, but hopefully the extra wait will be worth it.

These new features will arrive on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Switch next year. If you're playing Minecraft on PS4, you might want to check out the recently released PSVR support.

Also announced at Minecraft Live was a new Minecraft Dungeons update. That will introduce 20 tougher difficulty modes with the "Apocalypse Plus" system, along with new enchantments and items. Another piece of paid DLC is coming called the Howling Peaks. It focuses on a snowy biome culminating with a Tempest Golem boss.