Minecraft:Java Edition 26.2

Template:Infobox version Template:Relevant guide 26.2, the release of Minecraft:Chaos Cubed, is an upcoming Minecraft:game drop for Template:JE set to release in the second quarter of 2026. It focuses on the Minecraft:sulfur caves, a cave biome that is home to Minecraft:sulfur cubes, as well as the new Minecraft:sulfur and Minecraft:cinnabar blocks and their respective variants. This update also updates the rendering engine to use Minecraft:Vulkan, which is part of the long-term plan to add Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals to Java Edition.

Additions

Blocks

File:Cinnabar.png Minecraft:Cinnabar (and its block family)

• A red-colored block that generates in sulfur caves.
• Can be crafted or cut into the following blocks:
  • Cinnabar File:Cinnabar Stairs.png stairs, File:Cinnabar Slab.png slabs, File:Cinnabar Wall.png walls.
  • File:Polished Cinnabar Block.png Minecraft:Polished cinnabar, File:Polished Cinnabar Stairs.png stairs, File:Polished Cinnabar Slab.png slabs, File:Polished Cinnabar Wall.png walls.
  • File:Cinnabar Bricks.png Minecraft:Cinnabar bricks, File:Cinnabar Brick Stairs.png brick stairs, File:Cinnabar Brick Slab.png brick slabs, File:Cinnabar Brick Wall.png brick walls.
  • File:Chiseled Cinnabar Block.png Minecraft:Chiseled cinnabar.

File:Potent Sulfur.png Minecraft:Potent sulfur

• Generates naturally in water pools inside the Minecraft:sulfur caves biome.
• Produces bubbles which rise up to 4 water source blocks above it.
• When placed underneath up to 4 water source blocks, it generates a cloud of nausea-causing gas on the water surface.
  • This cloud spreads across adjacent water with a maximum radius of 3 blocks.
• Can be crafted from 9 Minecraft:sulfur blocks.

File:Sulfur.png Minecraft:Sulfur (and its block family)

• A yellow-colored block that generates in sulfur caves.
• Can be crafted or cut into the following blocks:
  • Sulfur File:Sulfur Stairs.png stairs, File:Sulfur Slab.png slabs, File:Sulfur Wall.png walls.
  • File:Polished Sulfur.png Minecraft:Polished sulfur, File:Polished Sulfur Stairs.png stairs, File:Polished Sulfur Slab.png slabs, File:Polished Sulfur Wall.png walls.
  • File:Sulfur Bricks.png Minecraft:Sulfur bricks, File:Sulfur Brick Stairs.png brick stairs, File:Sulfur Brick Slab.png brick slabs, File:Sulfur Brick Wall.png brick walls.
  • File:Chiseled Sulfur.png Minecraft:Chiseled sulfur.

File:Sulfur Spike Tip (D) JE1.png Minecraft:Sulfur spike

• Generates naturally on Minecraft:sulfur blocks inside the Minecraft:sulfur caves biome.
• Forms a stalactite if placed on the ceiling or a stalagmite if placed on the floor.
• Can be combined to form longer stalactites and stalagmites.
• Stalactites and stalagmites merge if the tips are next to each other, unless placed while Minecraft:crouching.
• Stalagmites will break if not attached to something below.
• Stalactites fall down if not attached to something above.
• Being hit by a falling stalactite or falling on a stalagmite deals damage.
• Thrown Minecraft:tridents break sulfur spikes.
• 4 sulfur spikes can be crafted into a Minecraft:sulfur block.

Items

File:Bucket of Sulfur Cube JE1 BE1.png Minecraft:Bucket of sulfur cube

• Can be obtained by using a Minecraft:bucket on an adult Minecraft:sulfur cube.

File:Sulfur Cube Spawn Egg JE1 BE1.png Minecraft:Sulfur cube spawn egg

• Added Minecraft:sulfur cube spawn egg.

Mobs

File:Sulfur Cube JE1.png File:Sulfur Cube JE1.pngMinecraft:Sulfur cube

• Spawns in the new Minecraft:sulfur caves biome.
• Is a Minecraft:passive mob, although it spawns like a hostile mob (it belongs to the hostile mob cap, and competes with hostile mobs for spawning space). It also despawns when no player is near.
• Has Template:Hp health points.
• They move by jumping around, like Minecraft:slimes and Minecraft:magma cubes.
• When a player interacts with it while holding a block, the sulfur cube will absorb the block and disable its AI.
• With a block inside, a player can also interact with the sulfur cube while holding Minecraft:shears to shear the block.
  • This enables its AI.
• The sulfur cube will follow a player holding a block it can absorb.
• The sulfur cube can also look for block items nearby and move towards them to absorb them.
• When killed, the sulfur cube splits into two smaller sulfur cubes.
  • They have no loot drops when killed.
• The small sulfur cube can be tempted and fed with Minecraft:slimeballs to grow them into large sulfur cubes.
• With a block inside, the sulfur cube will not take any fall or player damage and will become a physical object that players can interact with by punching and pushing.
  • However, it can still take damage from Minecraft:lava.
• A large sulfur cube can be picked up using an empty Minecraft:bucket.
• Minecraft:Dispensers can now equip and swap blocks inside a sulfur cube, as well as shear it with shears to remove the block it is holding.
• Dispensers can spawn a sulfur cube from a Minecraft:bucket of sulfur cube.
• With a block inside, it will assume one of the archetypes (listed below) and change its physical properties to match the block it absorbs:
  • Each archetype is characterized by the speed of the ball when hit, how bouncy it is when colliding with blocks and collidable entities, as well as its ground friction, air drag and if it floats in liquids
  • There are the following archetypes:
    • Regular: medium speed, medium bounciness, medium ground friction and low air drag.
      • It is buoyant.
      • Used when absorbing Minecraft:stone and Minecraft:mineral blocks.
    • Bouncy: fast speed, high bounciness, medium ground friction and low air drag.
      • It is buoyant.
      • Used when absorbing Minecraft:wooden blocks.
    • Slow Flat: slow speed, low bounciness, medium ground friction and medium air drag.
      • Used when absorbing Minecraft:metal blocks.
    • Fast Flat: fast speed, low bounciness, medium ground friction and low air drag.
      • Used when absorbing organic blocks.
    • Light: slow speed, high bounciness, medium ground friction and high air drag.
      • It is buoyant.
      • Used when absorbing all Minecraft:wool blocks.
    • Fast Sliding: fast speed, no bounciness, low ground friction and low air drag.
      • Used when absorbing icy blocks.
    • Slow Sliding: slow speed, no bounciness, low ground friction and low air drag.
      • Used when absorbing shroom blocks.
  • There are also two special archetypes:
    • High Resistance: very slow, low drag with low bounce with high friction.
      • Used when absorbing Minecraft:soul sand and Minecraft:soul soil.
    • Sticky: same properties as a golf ball, but sticks with extremely high ground friction and no bounce to simulate stickiness.
      • Used when absorbing Minecraft:honeycomb block.

World generation

Minecraft:Sulfur caves

• Added sulfur caves underground biome.
• Generates naturally underground and inside hills or mountains.
• Has bands of Minecraft:sulfur and Minecraft:cinnabar.
• Spawns the Minecraft:sulfur cube mob, as well as Minecraft:cave spiders instead of regular Minecraft:spiders.
• Generates with Minecraft:sulfur pools which contain Minecraft:potent sulfur.

Minecraft:Sulfur spring

• Is a new feature which generates naturally above the sulfur caves biome.
• Consists of sulfur, potent sulfur and Minecraft:magma blocks.
• Sulfur springs come in 4 different size variants:
  • Small
  • Medium
  • Large
  • Extra Large

General

Minecraft:Attributes

• Added Template:Cd
  • Determines how much drag is applied to an entity while in the air.
  • Accepts values between Template:Cd and Template:Cd.
  • Default value: Template:Cd – the entity uses existing drag when moving in the air.
  • Minimum value: Template:Cd – no drag is applied to the entity.
  • Values higher than Template:Cd increase the drag applied to the entity when moving through the air.

• Added Template:Cd
  • Determines what portion of the velocity is restituted after the entity collides with blocks and collidable entities.
  • When landing on bouncy blocks, like Minecraft:beds and Minecraft:slime blocks, the higher bounciness (of the block or the entity) is applied.
  • Accepts values between Template:Cd and Template:Cd
  • Default value: Template:Cd – no velocity is restituted.
  • Maximum value: Template:Cd – full velocity is restituted, collisions with blocks and collidable entities will have no effect on lowering the velocity.

• Added Template:Cd
  • Determines how much ground friction is applied to the entity with regards to the block it is on.
  • Accepts values between Template:Cd and Template:Cd
  • Default value: Template:Cd – friction of blocks is not modified.
  • Minimum value: Template:Cd – friction of blocks is reduced to zero.
  • Values higher than Template:Cd increase the friction applied to the entity from the blocks it is on.

Minecraft:Data component format

• Added Template:Cd
  • Represents the item that is absorbed by the Minecraft:sulfur cube.
  • Format: item that is absorbed by the sulfur cube.
    • e.g. minecraft:sulfur_cube_content=green_wool

Minecraft:Game events

• Added Template:Cd
  • Emitted when an entity collides with a block or a collidable entity with non-zero bounciness.
  • Has a vibration frequency of 2.

Minecraft:Identifiers

• Added Template:Cd registry with the following values:
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd

• Entry format: Object with fields:
  • Template:Cd: item tag that contains all items that can be fed to Sulfur Cubes of this archetype
  • Template:Cd: boolean indicating if the Sulfur Cube of this archetype floats in liquids
  • Template:Cd: a list of objects with fields:
    • Template:Cd: attribute to modify
    • Template:Cd: unique identifier for the modifier
    • Template:Cd: amount to modify the attribute by
    • Template:Cd: how to modify the attribute, one of Template:Cd, Template:Cd and Template:Cd

Minecraft:Options

• Added "Graphics API" in the video settings.
  • There are three values: Default, Prefer Vulkan and Prefer OpenGL.
    • "Default" is the recommend rendering engine the game will use unless there is issues.
      • Currently, it is the same as "Prefer Vulkan"
    • "Prefer Vulkan" will attempt to render using Vulkan, but fall back to OpenGL if it doesn't work.
    • "Prefer OpenGL" will attempt to render using OpenGL, but fall back to Vulkan if it doesn't work.

Particles

• Added Template:Cd
  • Particles showing on a sulfur cube mob when hopping around.

Minecraft:Splashes

• Added "Now on Vulcan 1.2!".

Tags

• Block tags
  • Added Template:Cd
    • Contains all blocks that suppress the bounciness of entities when colliding with them.
  • Added Template:Cd and Template:Cd blocks collection tags
  • Added Template:Cd
    • Contains blocks that can be broken with shears with speed 15.
  • Added Template:Cd
    • Contains blocks that can be broken with shears with speed 5.
  • Added Template:Cd
    • Contains blocks that can be broken with shears with speed 2.
  • Added Template:Cd
    • Contains all speleothems blocks such as Minecraft:pointed dripstones and Minecraft:sulfur spikes.
  • Added Template:Cd

• Damage Type Tags
  • Added Template:Cd for all damage types that sulfur cubes are immune to when having a block absorbed.

• Item tags
  • Added Template:Cd, Template:Cd, and Template:Cd items collection tags.
  • Added Template:Cd
    • Contains all items that can be fed to small Minecraft:sulfur cube.
  • Added Template:Cd
    • Contains all items that can be placed inside a large sulfur cube.
  • Added the following tags for items that can be placed inside a sulfur cube to determine its archetype:
    • Template:Cd
    • Template:Cd
    • Template:Cd
    • Template:Cd
    • Template:Cd
    • Template:Cd
    • Template:Cd
    • Template:Cd
    • Template:Cd

Vulkan support

• As previously announced, it is intended to switch the game from OpenGL to Vulkan.
• Vulkan is not supported by older hardware or drivers – OpenGL will be used as a fallback on those cases.
• The current requirement is Vulkan 1.2 with dynamic rendering and push descriptors, but this requirement may increase or decrease over time.
• Currently an experimental rendering backend, and may not be as performant or stable.
• Under Vulkan, it is preferred the player's dedicated graphics card over any integrated graphics, which is a change from OpenGL.
• The player can see which backend is being used in the F3 debug overlay (in the system_specs section).
• On macOS, MoltenVK is used to translate Vulkan to Metal.

Changes

Mobs

Minecraft:Hoglin and Minecraft:zoglin

• Fixed their babies' left ear texture so they are properly mirrored.

Command format

General

• When granting or revoking several advancements, the command output will now report how many advancements changed state across all players.
• When granting or revoking advancements or a criterion on several players, the command output will now report the number of players that any change applied to.

Gameplay

Minecraft:Advancements

• "Adventuring Time" now requires visiting the sulfur cave.

Minecraft:Vibration

• When an entity bounces off of a block or other collidable entity, it emits a vibration of frequency 2.

General

General

• Profiling the game with Tracy (launching with Template:Cd) now includes GPU timings.
• Rendering now uses a reversed depth buffer, which helps with Z-fighting on most hardware.

Minecraft:Attributes

• The minimum value of Template:Cd is now Template:Cd.

Minecraft:Block entity data

• The Template:Cd block entity has been removed.

Minecraft:Configured features

• Template:Cd
  • The fields Template:Cd and Template:Cd in blocks section of feature configuration now also accept an ID and a list of IDs in addition to a tag.
• Template:Cd
  • The field Template:Cd in the feature configuration now also accepts an ID or a list of IDs in addition to a tag.
• Template:Cd
  • The field Template:Cd in the feature configuration now also accepts an ID and or a list of IDs in addition to a tag.
• Template:Cd
  • The field replaceable in the feature configuration now also accepts an ID and or a list of IDs in addition to a tag.

Minecraft:Data pack

• The Minecraft:pack format version is now Template:Cd.

Minecraft:Debug screen

• The Template:Cd debug entry now refers to the ambient mob count as Template:Cd and the axolotl mob count as Template:Cd instead of referring to both as Template:Cd.
• The fps F3 screen entry will now report which type of present mode is used (e.g. mailbox or fifo relaxed), as opposed to just vsync.

Minecraft:Dimension types

• The field Template:Cd now also accepts an ID and a list of IDs in addition to a tag.

Minecraft:Items model definition

• The Template:Cd special model type has been removed.

Performance

• Upgrading certain worlds from before 26.1 can now be faster.

Minecraft:Predicates

• The Entity predicate format has changed from a structure with multiple optional fields to one similar to data component maps.
  • For example, previously Template:Cd was an optional field:

<syntaxhighlight lang=json> {

   "effects": {...}

} </syntaxhighlight>

• In this version it has become a component-like sub-predicate entry:

<syntaxhighlight lang=json> {

   "minecraft:effects": {...}

} </syntaxhighlight>

• The main functional changes are:
  • All keys in entity predicates are now identifiers.
    • Since identifiers can be written without namespace (default to Template:Cd namespace), existing field names are still valid.
    • Exception: field Template:Cd has been renamed to Template:Cd.
  • Unrecognized sub-predicate components are now rejected (previously unknown fields were ignored).
• Existing type-specific sub-predicates have been renamed and moved to top-level.
  • Template:Cd to Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd to Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd to Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd to Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd to Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd to Template:Cd as it now includes Minecraft:sulfur cubes in addition to Minecraft:slimes and Minecraft:magma cubes.

For example: <syntaxhighlight lang=json> {

 "type_specific": {
   "type": "minecraft:player",
   "looking_at": {
     "type": "minecraft:ender_dragon"
   }
 }

} </syntaxhighlight> becomes <syntaxhighlight lang=json> {

 "minecraft:type_specific/player": {
   "looking_at": {
     "minecraft:entity_type": "minecraft:ender_dragon"
   }
 }

} </syntaxhighlight>

• Added Template:Cd entity sub-predicate.
  • This predicate matches entity tags (i.e. ones set with the Template:Cmd command).
  • Fields:
    • Template:Cd - optional list of strings, if present the matched entity must have at least one of the listed tags.
    • Template:Cd - optional list of strings, if present the matched entity must have all the listed tags.
    • Template:Cd - optional list of strings, if present the matched entity must have none of the listed tags.

Minecraft:Resource pack

• The version is now Template:Cd.

Minecraft:Shaders

• The core/rendertype_text, core/rendertype_text_see_through, core/rendertype_text_intensity, core/rendertype_text_intensity_see_through, core/rendertype_text_background, and core/rendertype_text_background_see_through shaders have been replaced by core/text and core/text_background
  • Variants are now controlled by shader defines: IS_GUI, IS_SEE_THROUGH, and IS_GRAYSCALE

Minecraft:Sounds

• Updated sounds for Minecraft:nautilus jets and nautilus recovers.
• Added sounds for Minecraft:sulfur block:
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
• Added sounds for Minecraft:potent sulfur:
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
• Added sounds for Minecraft:cinnabar:
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
• Added sounds for Minecraft:sulfur cube:
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
• Added sounds for small sulfur cube:
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd
  • Template:Cd

Structure processors

• Template:Cd
  • The field Template:Cd now also accepts an ID or a list of IDs in addition to a tag.

Minecraft:Tags

• Block Tags
  • Template:Cd collection tag has been renamed to Template:Cd.
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.
  • Replaced Template:Cd by Template:Cd from Template:Cd tags.

• Entity Tags
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tags.

• Item Tags
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.
  • Added Template:Cd to Template:Cd tag.

Minecraft:Textures

• Block sprites
  • Added new block textures:
    • block/chiseled_cinnabar.png
    • block/chiseled_sulfur.png
    • block/cinnabar.png
    • block/cinnabar_bricks.png
    • block/polished_cinnabar.png
    • block/polished_sulfur.png
    • block/potent_sulfur.png
    • block/sulfur.png
    • block/sulfur_bricks.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_down_base.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_down_frustum.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_down_middle.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_down_tip.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_down_tip_merge.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_up_base.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_up_frustum.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_up_middle.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_up_tip.png
    • block/sulfur_spike_up_tip_merge.png
  • Beds now use block models and textures, replacing Template:Cd with the respective bed's color's name:
    • block/bed_down.png
    • block/bed_head_north.png
    • block/<color>_bed_foot_east.png
    • block/<color>_bed_foot_south.png
    • block/<color>_bed_foot_up.png
    • block/<color>_bed_foot_west.png
    • block/<color>_bed_head_east.png
    • block/<color>_bed_head_up.png
    • block/<color>_bed_head_west.png

• Item sprites
  • Added new Item sprites:
    • item/sulfur_cube_bucket.png
    • item/sulfur_spike.png

• Entity textures
  • Added new entity textures:
    • entity/sulfur_cube/sulfur_cube_outer.png
    • entity/sulfur_cube/sulfur_cube_inner.png

Minecraft:World generation

• Overworld features
  • Adjusted the feature type Template:Cd
    • Added field Template:Cd - block predicate, describes which blocks this feature can be placed on.
    • Added field Template:Cd - block predicate, describes which blocks this feature can replace with air or the provided fluid block.
    • Added field Template:Cd - block predicate, describes which blocks this feature can replace with the provided barrier block.

• Dripstone features
  • Renamed the feature type Template:Cd to Template:Cd
    • Added the field Template:Cd – Block State, describes the block forming the base of the speleothem.
    • Added the field Template:Cd – Block State, describes the block creating the columns of the speleothem.
    • Added the field Template:Cd – Block ID, list of Block IDs, or hash-prefixed Block Tag describing which blocks this feature can generate on.
    • Renamed the field Template:Cd to Template:Cd
  • Renamed the feature type Template:Cd to Template:Cd.
    • Added the field Template:Cd – Block State, describes the block forming the base of the speleothem.
    • Added the field Template:Cd – Block State, describes the block creating the columns of the speleothem.
    • Added the field Template:Cd – Block ID, list of Block IDs, or hash-prefixed Block Tag describing which blocks this feature can generate on.
    • Renamed the field Template:Cd to Template:Cd.
    • Renamed the field Template:Cd to Template:Cd
    • Renamed the field Template:Cd to Template:Cd.
  • Adjusted the feature type Template:Cd.
    • Added the field Template:Cd – Block ID, list of Block IDs, or hash-prefixed Block Tag describing which blocks this feature can generate on.

• Added the Template:Cd surface rule.
  • Replaces blocks based on the specified noise and gradient list.
  • Format: object with fields:
    • Template:Cd – noise id, the noise to sample.
    • Template:Cd – non-empty list of objects with fields, the list to sample based on the noise value:
      • Template:Cd (optional) – the block state to select at this index.
        • If this field is not defined, the surface rule will not replace any block when sampling this entry.

• Added the Template:Cd feature type
  • Generates a list of placed features in order. If any feature in the list is not placed, the following features will also be skipped.
  • Format: object with fields:
    • Template:Cd – list of Placed Features or hash-prefixed placed feature tag, the features to generate.

• Added the Template:Cd feature type
  • Places one template randomly chosen from the given Weighted List of Identifiers. By default, the template will be spawned randomly rotated, centered around the origin.
  • Format: object with fields:
    • Template:Cd – Weighted List of structure template entries. Each structure template entry is composed of an Identifier and a list of rotations to randomly choose from.
      • Template:Cd – The template Identifier.
      • Template:Cd – Optional list of rotations to choose from and apply to this template if it is picked.
        • Allowed values: Template:Cd, Template:Cd, Template:Cd, Template:Cd
        • If not specified, defaults to all allowed values.