Mojang announces Minecraft 1.20, with first beta coming 'a few days from now'

At the 2022 Minecraft Live event, Mojang revealed some key details about the upcoming 1.20 update for the long-lived survival game, as well as its planned release window in the spring of 2023. Mojang also announced that the update's first playable features and snapshots would be accessible "a few days from now," and revealed the winner of its 2022 mob vote: The noble and honorable Sniffer.

Contrary to previous big updates, Mojang has not yet named 1.20, and instead hopes to shape and characterize it in conversation with the community. The developer did reveal some of the new features on the way, including seven new default skins alongside the classic Steve. Mojang hopes this will allow players to feel represented in the game without having to immediately turn to custom options, and will also be characterizing the new default characters and including them marketing in a similar way to Steve.

Mojang also revealed a snazzy new bamboo construction material, complete with intricate window designs, as well as jaunty hanging signs. Minecraft will also see the addition of ridable camels that, unlike the game's horses, can dash over rivers. The camels can also be ridden by two players at once, finally allowing you and your closest friends to share the intimacy of a camel ride, in Minecraft. You can learn more about how Minecraft will implement our new humped friends in our breakdown of Minecraft camels.

1.20 is looking like a fun time then, though Mojang has yet to reveal a specific date for the first snapshot, instead stating that it will arrive in "just a few days." In the mean time, you can check out our guide on everything we know about Minecraft's 1.20 update.

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.