Minecraft's "Horse Update" pre-release rides in, official launch set for next week

Mojang have launched a pre-release version of Minecraft 1.6 - referred to as "The Horse Update" - ahead of next week's official release. Given the name, you can probably guess what it adds. Carpets, for one. Also donkeys, name tags, blocks of coal. And, yes, it introduces horses, based on the popular Mo' Creatures mod, along with horse armour, which may or may not be based on the less popular Bethesda DLC. Either way, it's free this time.

The official launch is due next Monday, July 1st. Here's the changelist:

Added Horses
Added Donkeys, Mules
Added Horse Armor
Added Leads
Added Carpets
Added Hardened Clay, Stained Clay
Added Block of Coal
Added Name Tags (item)
Added Hay Bales
Texture packs are now “resource packs” that also can hold sound etc
Food meter is now drained when healed by full food meter
Removed Herobrine

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.