Minecraft:Chase the Skies

File:Chase the Skies Key Art.jpg

Key art

Chase the Skies is a Minecraft:game drop released on June 17, 2025, as Minecraft:Java Edition 1.21.6 and Minecraft:Bedrock Edition 1.21.90. It introduces Minecraft:happy ghasts (which can be ridden with Minecraft:harnesses), improved mechanics for Minecraft:leads, craftable Minecraft:saddles, new background Minecraft:music, the "Minecraft:Tears" music disc, the player locator bar, as well as Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals Template:In. The first features of this game drop were revealed at Minecraft:Minecraft LIVE – March 2025.

During development, the update was referred to as Summer Drop 2025 and Drop 2 2025 as the name of the Template:Edition Minecraft:experiment. The final name of the update was revealed in a Minecraft:minecraft.net article on June 1, 2025.<ref>Template:Mcnet</ref>

Experimental features for the update were released prior to the finalized release as part of Minecraft:Bedrock Edition 1.21.80.

Additions

Blocks

File:Dried Ghast JE1 BE1.png Minecraft:Dried ghast

• Naturally generates next to Minecraft:Nether fossils in Minecraft:soul sand valleys.
  • Makes dry sounds when place on top of Minecraft:soul sand or Minecraft:soul soil.
• Can be obtained through Minecraft:bartering with piglins.
• Crafted with Minecraft:soul sand surrounded with 8 Minecraft:ghast tears.
• Template:Animate When put in Minecraft:water, the block's appearance changes 3 times depending on the time spent hydrated, changing its facial expression. After this, it becomes a Minecraft:ghastling.
  • Breaking the dried ghast or removing water from it causes it to revert back to its original state.

Items

Template:InvSprite Minecraft:Happy ghast spawn egg

• Used to spawn a Minecraft:happy ghast.

Template:AnimateSprite Template:Animate Minecraft:Harness

• Used to pilot a happy ghast.
• Crafted with Minecraft:leather, Minecraft:glass, and Minecraft:wool.
• Comes in 16 colors based on the color of the wool.

Minecraft:Music discs:

• Template:InvSprite "Lava Chicken" music disc<ref group="note" name="hotfixwarning">This was added in the Minecraft:1.21.7/1.21.93 hotfixes and not in the first release, although they're still considered part of the drop.</ref>
  • Obtained by killing a Minecraft:baby zombie while it is riding a Minecraft:chicken (a Minecraft:chicken jockey).
  • The music was composed by Minecraft:Hyper Potions.

• Template:InvSprite "Tears" music disc
  • Dropped by Minecraft:ghasts when killed by a player-deflected Minecraft:fireball.
  • The music was composed by Minecraft:Amos Roddy.

Paintings

• Added a new Minecraft:painting based on the one in Template:AMCM by the artist Minecraft:Sarah Boeving:<ref group="note">This was added in the 1.21.7 hotfix Template:In, and only in the first release Template:In, although still considered part of the drop.</ref>

Picture	Name	Size	Artist
File:Dennis (texture) BE1.png	Minecraft:Dennis	3x3	Sarah Boeving

Mobs

File:Happy Ghast BE1.gifFile:Happy Ghast White Harness Goggles Up JE1 BE1.gif Minecraft:Happy ghast

• A passive version of the Minecraft:ghast, which can be equipped with a Minecraft:harness and ridden by up to four players.
  • File:Happy Ghast White Harness Goggles Down BE1.gif A mounted happy ghast would have its goggles down.
• Can be stood on, similar to a Minecraft:shulker.
• Can be temped with a Minecraft:harness when not worn or Minecraft:snowballs.
• It can regenerate its health slowly.
  • Can be healed faster when on Minecraft:rain, Minecraft:snowing or on Minecraft:cloud level.
• File:Happy Ghast White Harness Goggles Up Leashed JE1 BE1.gif Happy ghasts had a unique leash texture when a big mob or a boat was leashed.
• File:Ghastling BE1.gif Baby version is called a ghastling.
  • Have a unique texture and sounds.
  • Spawned after a Minecraft:dried ghast gets hydrated in Minecraft:water.
    • Does not drown, unlike their adults.
  • Follows nearby adult happy ghasts, Minecraft:players, Minecraft:villagers, and any passive or neutral land Minecraft:animals until they get bored.
  • Can be fed Minecraft:snowballs to speed up their growth.

Sounds

Minecraft:Lead

• Now produce a sound when snap.

Short and Minecraft:Tall dry grass

• Now emits ambient sounds when above 2 Minecraft:sand, Minecraft:red sand, Minecraft:terracotta or Minecraft:stained terracotta blocks.

GUI

File:Survival Locator Bar.png

Minecraft:Locator bar

• The locator bar is a new UI element on the player HUD that displays the direction of other players in the world.
• When the Template:Va Minecraft:game rule is enabled and there are multiple players in a world, the locator bar appears on-screen for each player, replacing the experience bar. The player's Minecraft:experience level is still visible as before above the locator bar.
• The locator bar displays colored indicators when the camera is facing within 120° toward another player. If another player is 30° above or below the camera's viewport (the screen), an up or down arrow is displayed.
• Players in Minecraft:Spectator mode are not visible on the locator bar.
• A player can hide and prevent their indicator from appearing on the locator bar via the following means:
  • Minecraft:Sneaking.
  • Wearing a Minecraft:head or a Minecraft:carved pumpkin.
  • Being under the Minecraft:Invisibility effect.
• Can be disabled by map creator or server operator.
• The locator bar can be used to locate entities other than the player, controlled by Template:Attr and Template:Attr attributes.
• The locator bar Minecraft:waypoint styles can be changed by Template:Cmd command.Template:Only
• The locator bar is in place of the EXP bar, but the EXP bar shows for a short time after collecting EXP.

Graphics

File:Vibrant Visuals.png

Minecraft:Vibrant VisualsTemplate:Only

• The new default graphics setting on supported devices, placed above the Simple and Fancy settings.
• Adds pixel-perfect shadows, directional lighting, water caustics, and many more graphical features.
• Planned for release on Template:JE at a later date.

Music

Template:Main Lilypad

• Composed by Minecraft:Amos Roddy.
• Plays in Minecraft:frozen peaks and Minecraft:groves.

Minecraft:Below and Above

• Composed by Amos Roddy.
• Plays in Minecraft:cherry groves.

Minecraft:O's Piano

• Composed by Amos Roddy.
• Plays in Minecraft:lush caves.

Minecraft:Broken Clocks

• Composed by Amos Roddy.
• Plays in Minecraft:forests.

Fireflies

• Composed by Amos Roddy.
• Plays in Minecraft:deserts.
• All of the above songs also play on the title screen when you start the game.

Tears

• Composed by Amos Roddy.
• Plays when inserting a "Tears" music disc into a Minecraft:jukebox.

Lava Chicken<ref group="note" name="hotfixwarning"/>

• Composed by Hyper Potions.
• Plays when inserting a "Lava Chicken" music disc into a Minecraft:jukebox.

Changes

Blocks

Minecraft:Sand and Minecraft:Red sand

• No longer emits windy sounds.

Minecraft:Terracotta and Minecraft:Stained terracotta

• No longer emit ambient sounds.

Items

Minecraft:Carrot

• Can now be used to Minecraft:tame, heal, and grow Minecraft:horses, Minecraft:donkeys, and Minecraft:mules.

Minecraft:Lead

• Is now crafted with 5 Minecraft:string, with the former Minecraft:slimeball in its recipe replaced by an additional piece of string.

• Entities can now be attached to other entities with leads.
• Can now be removed from entities using Minecraft:shears, including Minecraft:dispensers containing shears.
• Snapping distance has been increased to 12 blocks.

Minecraft:Leather

• Can now be found in Minecraft:monster room, Minecraft:ancient city, Minecraft:desert pyramid, Minecraft:jungle pyramid and Minecraft:stronghold altar chests in quantities 1-5, replacing Minecraft:saddles.

Minecraft:Saddle

• Can now be crafted with 3 Minecraft:leather and 1 Minecraft:iron ingot.

• Can now be removed from mobs wearing them by using shears on the mob.
  • Cannot be removed this way from Minecraft:ravagers or mobs with riders.
  • Can no longer be equipped using dispensers.
• No longer found in chests in Minecraft:monster rooms, Minecraft:ancient cities, Minecraft:desert pyramids, Minecraft:jungle pyramids and in Minecraft:stronghold altar chests.

Minecraft:Shears

• Can now remove Minecraft:saddles, Minecraft:horse armor, Minecraft:harnesses and Minecraft:carpets from mobs.
• Can now cut Minecraft:leads.
  • They cannot be removed if the mob has a rider.
  • They cannot be removed if the player is crouching.
• Saddles cannot be removed from Minecraft:ravagers.
• Dispensers with shears cannot remove saddles, horse armor, harnesses and carpets equipped on mobs.

Template:InvSpriteTemplate:InvSprite Minecraft:Spawn eggs

• Changed Minecraft:blaze and Minecraft:breeze spawn egg sizes to more accurately represent the mobs.

Minecraft:Splash potions

• Now have a duration that varies based on distance from the impact point.
  • If a splash potion directly hits an entity, the entity receives the full duration and potency of the effect.
    • However, if the entity is further away from the impact, the effect's duration and potency decrease linearly.

Mobs

File:Ghast JE3 BE3.gifFile:Ghast shooting JE3.png Minecraft:Ghast

• The resolution of the ghast texture has been doubled to match the new happy ghasts.
• Now drops a ”Tears” music disc when player kills it using a deflected Minecraft:fireball.

Graphics

Minecraft:Clouds

File:Creeper face in clouds.png

The creeper face easter egg.

• The texture for cloud distribution has been changed.
  • Now has more, smaller gaps between the clouds.
  • Clouds are of a more consistent, oval shape than before.
  • Now has a creeper face made up of clouds in a certain section of the texture.
• Cloud render distance has been increased.

Further revisions

Java Edition

• 1.21.7 added the "Dennis" Minecraft:painting variant and the "Lava Chicken" music disc.
• 1.21.8 was a minor hotfix update.

Bedrock Edition

• 1.21.91 was released to fix bugs related to 1.21.90.
• 1.21.92 was released to fix bugs related to 1.21.91.
• 1.21.93 added the "Lava Chicken" music disc.
• 1.21.94 was released to fix bugs related to 1.21.92 and 1.21.93.
• 1.21.100 was a minor update that added "The Void" flat world preset and experimental features for Minecraft:The Copper Age.
• 1.21.101 was released to fix bugs related to 1.21.100.

Promotions

Giveaway

File:Chase the Skies giveaway flag.png

Promo for the giveaway.

To promote the release of the drop, a contest was held to give away ten travel-themed prizes. These included a hammock, a blanket, a weekender bag, Minecraft:Crocs, a thermos, and a creeper-themed cooler bag.<ref>Template:Tweet</ref> To participate, players were tasked with taking a screenshot of gameplay, possibly using Vibrant Memories. Up to five photos per day were eligible.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Vibrant Memories

File:Minecraft Vibrant Memories.jpeg

Key art for the add-on.

The day following the drop's release, an Minecraft:add-on was published to promote the introduction of Vibrant Visuals. Developed by Minecraft:Oreville Studios, the add-on allows players to immortalize specific locations and memories in their worlds.

Take on Ghastastic Challenges

File:Take on Ghastastic Challenges.jpeg

Key art for the event.

To promote the release of the drop, an advertising campaign began on June 20, 2025, featuring two Minecraft:community challenges. For Bedrock players, they earned the two items. For Java players, a skin pack was also released to reward progress.<ref>Template:Mcnet</ref>

Name	Image		Type	Rarity	Obtaining
	Icon	Render
Ghast Rider Floatie	File:Ghast Rider Floatie.png	File:Ghast Rider Floatie Render.png	Outerwear File:Outerwear.png	Rare File:Rarity rare.png	Require players to spawn 50 Million happy ghasts.
Happy Ghast Pilot Gear	File:Happy Ghast Pilot Gear.png	File:Happy Ghast Pilot Gear Render.png	Headwear File:Headwear.png		Require players to feed 1 Million ghastlings with snowballs.

Gallery

Official artwork

• File:Chase the Skies minecraft.net homepage.jpeg
• File:Bedrock 1.21.90 PatchNotes.jpeg
• Key art with characters
  Key art with characters
• Key art background
  Key art background
• Key art of four characters riding a happy ghast
  Key art of four characters riding a happy ghast
• A cropped version of the key art
  A cropped version of the key art
• Pre-release key art
  Pre-release key art
• A textless version of the alternate key art
  A textless version of the alternate key art
• Page 1 of the launch pamphlet, announcing the release platforms
  Page 1 of the launch pamphlet, announcing the release platforms
• Page 2 of the launch pamphlet, listing off biomes and the locator bar
  Page 2 of the launch pamphlet, listing off biomes and the locator bar
• Page 3 of the launch pamphlet, listing off structures and snacks
  Page 3 of the launch pamphlet, listing off structures and snacks
• Page 4 of the launch pamphlet, listing off activities
  Page 4 of the launch pamphlet, listing off activities
• Page 5 of the launch pamphlet, listing off items and the happy ghast
  Page 5 of the launch pamphlet, listing off items and the happy ghast
• Page 6 of the launch pamphlet, listing off "souvenirs"
  Page 6 of the launch pamphlet, listing off "souvenirs"
• Minecraft:Sunny preparing for launch
  Minecraft:Sunny preparing for launch
• Sunny's laptop confirming the drop's release
  Sunny's laptop confirming the drop's release
• Community challenges rewards
  Community challenges rewards

Mojang screenshots

• Three photographs of happy ghasts
  Three photographs of happy ghasts
• The three new types of ghasts introduced
  The three new types of ghasts introduced
• Minecraft:Ari leashing mobs, while holding a Minecraft:snowball to attract a ghastling
  Minecraft:Ari leashing mobs, while holding a Minecraft:snowball to attract a ghastling
• A happy ghast and a ghastling in a field
  A happy ghast and a ghastling in a field
• Each stage of hydration
  Each stage of hydration
• Minecraft:Zuri building on a happy ghast
  Minecraft:Zuri building on a happy ghast
• A chuckle of happy ghasts flying in mountains
  A chuckle of happy ghasts flying in mountains
• Ari looking at a dried ghast in a Minecraft:soul sand valley next to a Minecraft:nether fossil
  Ari looking at a dried ghast in a Minecraft:soul sand valley next to a Minecraft:nether fossil
• Ari riding a horse while followed by a happy ghast leashed to a Minecraft:camel
  Ari riding a horse while followed by a happy ghast leashed to a Minecraft:camel
• A similar but distinct scenario
  A similar but distinct scenario
• A ghastling next to Minecraft:water. Ripples and reflections can be seen
  A ghastling next to Minecraft:water. Ripples and reflections can be seen
• A Minecraft:swamp during sunset. The right image shows the reflection of the sunset in Vibrant Visuals
  A Minecraft:swamp during sunset. The right image shows the reflection of the sunset in Vibrant Visuals
• Ditto, but with a Minecraft:desert (left), Minecraft:stony shore (top), and Minecraft:badlands (right)
  Ditto, but with a Minecraft:desert (left), Minecraft:stony shore (top), and Minecraft:badlands (right)
• Ditto, but with a Minecraft:mangrove swamp
  Ditto, but with a Minecraft:mangrove swamp

Merchandise images

• File:Summer Gift 2025 tshirt.jpeg
• File:Summer Gift 2025 tank top.jpeg
• File:Summer Gift 2025 kids tshirt.webp
• File:Summer Gift 2025 trucker hat.jpeg
• File:Summer Gift 2025 cup with lid.jpeg
• File:Summer Gift 2025 ghast collectible.jpeg