Mojang has finally revealed the title of its upcoming major Minecraft 1.20 update: “Trails and Tails.” While the update was first announced during Minecraft Live 2022 back in October, yesterday’s full statement is the first concrete and comprehensive information drop Mojang has given for all of Minecraft‘s exciting new features.
The name for the update, which follows Minecraft 1.17’s Caves & Cliffs update released in 2021, premiered in a new official Minecraft news show, Minecraft Monthly. According to Game Director Agnes Larsson, Trails and Tails will make Minecraft “Minecraftier than ever” and also focus on themes of “self-expression, creativity, and intrinsic motivation.” Mojang’s goal with this name is to represent the unique journey that Minecraft can take each individual player.
The most notable new addition is an archelogy mechanic in which players can dig through sandy areas to find a new block called Suspicious Sand. Once found, players use a new brush tool to find pottery shards within the sand that can reveal mysterious fragments of unique, different stories. Minecraft 1.20 will also feature new mobs such as camels, which are rideable and can be found in desert biomes, and sniffers, ancient mobs that can be revived through hatching their eggs. Other new gameplay features include the ability to trim armor, hanging signs, chiseled bookshelves, craftable bamboo, playable mob sounds using mob heads, and a stunning new cherry blossom biome to explore.
While Mojang didn’t give a set release date for the Trails and Tales update, it’s likely to launch sometime later in 2023. Every feature within it is already playable through Minecraft snapshots, and Mojang will tweak the new mobs and mechanics based on player feedback submitted through the Minecraft 1.20 feedback site.