Minecraft 26.4: everything we know so far
Published on 7 October 2026
Minecraft 26.4 is the last game drop of 2026, bringing ice caves, ice crystals, icicles, the frostbite (a frozen zombie that throws ice balls) and a new Freezing effect. There’s no release date yet: Mojang only calls it the final drop of the year.
This page sticks to what Mojang has confirmed, as of 7 October 2026. The new content currently lives in snapshots, and those can still change before 26.4 actually ships.
When is Minecraft 26.4 coming out?
As of 7 October 2026 there’s no release date. In its testing round-up of 30 September, Mojang calls the update “the final game drop of 2026”, and that’s as far as the official word goes. On Java it will be version 26.4; Mojang hasn’t said which version number the Bedrock release gets. It doesn’t have a name of its own yet either, the way 26.3 was called Wilderness Bound.
Seen a firm date somewhere? Check whether it came from Mojang. Until it does, any date is a guess.
What’s new in Minecraft 26.4?
Mojang showed off the new content at Minecraft LIVE on 26 September 2026. Since Snapshot 3 on 6 October, all of it is in the Java snapshots too:
| What | How it works |
|---|---|
| Ice caves | A new cave biome under cold biomes, mostly packed ice and calcite. Strays and frostbites spawn here too. |
| Ice crystal | Looks a bit like amethyst, sits on the floor of ice caves, gives off light and breaks if the block it’s attached to goes. |
| Icicle | Hangs from the ceiling, grows up to 5 blocks long in the dark and hurts when it falls on you. |
| Frostbite | A zombie for cold places. Up close it inflicts Freezing, from a distance it throws ice balls. |
| Freezing | An effect that slowly freezes you, as in powder snow. Leather armour stops the damage, not the effect. |
| Ice ball | A projectile with knockback. Deals up to 4 damage, less the slower it flies. |
Ice balls let you brew a Potion of Freezing, including splash and lingering versions. On Java, a Lingering Potion of Freezing in the middle of a crafting table with eight arrows around it gives you Arrows of Freezing; on Bedrock you dip arrows into a cauldron holding that potion. A zombie stuck in powder snow turns into a frostbite, and a frostbite that stays underwater long enough turns back into a regular zombie.
There are smaller changes as well. You can now place snow on packed ice, snowballs knock players back, and on Java a new Other Players screen (P by default) replaces the old Social Interactions screen. The friends list has been redesigned with search and sorting.
Want to hunt for ice caves in a test world? Chunkbase’s Seed Map already shows them for the Java snapshots. Here’s how such a map works: How to use a Minecraft seed map.
The snapshots so far
| Snapshot | Date | Headline changes |
|---|---|---|
| Snapshot 1 | 22 September | Vulkan becomes the default graphics API, three new server settings |
| Snapshot 2 | 29 September | Redesigned F3 screen, better fog at the edge of your render distance |
| Snapshot 3 | 6 October | Ice caves, frostbite, Freezing, ice balls and the new friends list |
On Bedrock, the same content has been in Preview and Beta 26.60.29 since 30 September, behind the Drop 4 of 2026 experimental toggle. Mojang hasn’t given a release date for Bedrock either.
What does 26.4 mean for your server?
For server owners, the most important news came in Snapshot 1, which added three settings to server.properties:
status-contact-details: a contact address players see in the server status, even if your server has no website.allowed-connection-ids: your server only accepts players who type a fixed code in front of the address, as incode@address. Without it, they see no server status and can’t join. Mojang points out that the code travels unencrypted, so don’t treat it as a password.enable-legacy-status: turns off the old pre-1.7 status ping. It stays on by default.
As of 7 October, Paper has no builds for 26.4 yet, and its 26.3 builds are still in beta themselves. If you run plugins, wait until Paper and your plugins support the new version. To test a snapshot, use a vanilla server: Mojang publishes a server file with every snapshot, and in our game panel you can pick a snapshot under Versions. Like 26.3, version 26.4 needs Java 25. Mods are further along: Fabric and Fabric API already run on all three snapshots. Here’s how to change your server version, and always make a backup first.
Trying 26.4 today
- Java: in the Minecraft Launcher, enable snapshots under Installations and pick the latest one. Mojang also puts a server file alongside each snapshot.
- Bedrock: install Minecraft Preview (Xbox, PlayStation, Windows and iOS; on Windows through its own tab in the Minecraft Launcher) or the beta (Android), then enable the Drop 4 of 2026 experiment in a new test world. With a Realms subscription you can also create a free test Realm.
Mojang warns that test versions can corrupt your world, so back up first or play in a separate folder or world. For the rest of this year’s updates, see The next Minecraft update and Minecraft 26.3 Wilderness Bound.
Want to decide when you upgrade? On your own Minecraft server you choose which version runs, and you can switch in a few clicks in the game panel, snapshots included, in a separate world. See the Minecraft plans.
