Minecraft:Fourth Drop 2026

The fourth drop of 2026 is an upcoming Minecraft:game drop that will release as Minecraft:Java Edition 26.4 and Minecraft:Bedrock Edition 26.70 in the fourth quarter of 2026. It introduces Minecraft:ice caves, a new Minecraft:cave Minecraft:biome featuring Minecraft:icicles, Minecraft:ice crystals, and Minecraft:brittle ice, as well as the Minecraft:frostbites, Minecraft:ice balls, the Minecraft:Freezing effect, brick variants of packed ice and snow blocks, and updated Minecraft:jukeboxes. It was announced at Minecraft:Minecraft LIVE – September 2026.

Experimental features for the update were released prior to the finalized release as part of Minecraft:Bedrock Edition 26.60.

Additions

Blocks

Template:Animate Minecraft:Brittle ice

• A fragile Minecraft:ice block that generates naturally in Minecraft:ice caves as part of Minecraft:crevasses.
• Begins to crack when stood on by players or mobs, eventually breaking.
  • Minecraft:Frostbites and Minecraft:strays can stand on brittle ice without breaking it.
• Does not melt.
• Is created when Minecraft:water touches Minecraft:blue ice.
  • Any water block that borders the blue ice block horizontally will turn into brittle ice.
• Must be obtained by a Minecraft:pickaxe with Minecraft:Silk Touch.

File:Ice Crystal.png Minecraft:Ice crystal

• A crystal block which generates on the ground in ice caves.
• Emits a Minecraft:light level of 4.
• Can be placed on all full sides of a block, and breaks if the support block is removed.
• Emits ambient sounds when placed above Minecraft:packed ice.

Template:AnimateTemplate:Animate
Template:AnimateTemplate:Animate Minecraft:Icicle

• A spike block that generates as stalactites on the ceiling in ice caves.
  • Can also be placed on the ground as stalagmites.
• Can naturally grow up to 5 blocks long when pointing downward.
  • Only grows under Minecraft:packed ice in areas with a low enough light level and outside Minecraft:the Nether.
• Icicle segments melt (depending on the placement) at a Minecraft:light level of 5 or above or in the Nether, causing them to break.
• Function similarly to other spike blocks:
  • Icicle stalactites fall when their supporting block is broken, and they deal damage to entities they collide with.
  • Landing onto an icicle stalagmite multiplies the fall damage taken.
  • Icicles can be broken by a thrown Minecraft:trident.

File:Packed Ice Bricks JE1.png Minecraft:Packed ice bricks

• A brick block made from Minecraft:packed ice.
• Unlike regular packed ice, it is not slippery.
• Must be obtained with a pickaxe.
  • Does not require Silk Touch.
• File:Packed Ice Brick Stairs JE1.png Minecraft:Packed ice brick stairs
• File:Packed Ice Brick Slab JE1.png Minecraft:Packed ice brick slab
• File:Packed Ice Brick Wall JE1.png Minecraft:Packed ice brick wall
• File:Chiseled Packed Ice.png Minecraft:Chiseled packed ice

File:Snow Bricks JE1.png Minecraft:Snow bricks

• A brick block made from Minecraft:snow blocks.
  • Cannot be crafted using a Minecraft:stonecutter.
• File:Snow Brick Stairs (N) JE1 BE1.png Minecraft:Snow brick stairs
• File:Snow Brick Slab JE1.png Minecraft:Snow brick slab
• File:Snow Brick Wall.png Minecraft:Snow brick wall

Items

Template:InvSprite Minecraft:Frostbite spawn egg

• Used to spawn a Minecraft:frostbite.

Template:InvSprite Minecraft:Ice ball

• A throwable Minecraft:projectile that deals damage and knockback.
  • Deals a maximum of 4 damage to entities it hits, with the damage scaling down based on its projectile speed.
  • Have a sharp deacceleration, like Minecraft:snowballs.
• Can be used to brew potions of Freezing.
• Obtained from Minecraft:frostbites, which have a chance to drop them when killed.

Template:AnimateSprite Minecraft:Potion of Freezing

• Minecraft:Brewed using an Minecraft:ice ball.
• Applies the Minecraft:Freezing effect.
  • Template:InvSprite Minecraft:Arrow of Freezing
• A Minecraft:tipped arrow which applies the Freezing effect.

Effects

File:Freezing JE1 BE1.png Minecraft:Freezing

• An effect version of Minecraft:powder snow freezing that causes an entity to Minecraft:freeze, dealing damage over time and slowing their movement.
• Since it has the same effect as powder snow freezing, it can be prevented when an entity wears a piece of Minecraft:leather armor, but will not keep the effect from being applied and will not remove the effect.
  • Minecraft:Frostbites are completely immune to Freezing, while Minecraft:snow golems, Minecraft:polar bears, and Minecraft:strays can be inflicted with it but are unaffected.
  • Mobs that are vulnerable to Freezing (Minecraft:blazes, Minecraft:magma cubes, and Minecraft:striders) have a five times multiplier to the damage taken.

Mobs

width=55x55 File:Baby Frostbite.png Minecraft:Frostbite

• A Minecraft:zombie variant that can be found in snowy biomes.
  • Zombies convert into frostbites when they stay in Minecraft:powder snow for 30 seconds.
• Immune to Minecraft:Freezing.
  • Does not sink in Minecraft:powder snow nor make Minecraft:brittle ice crack.
• Burns in Minecraft:sunlight.
• It has two modes of attacking: a melee attack and a ranged attack.
  • Most frostbites use a standard melee attack, which gives the Minecraft:Freezing effect.
  • Some frostbites spawn holding Minecraft:ice balls, which they throw as a ranged attack.
• Drops Minecraft:rotten flesh and ice balls when killed, regardless if holding one or not.
• Converts into a Minecraft:zombie when underwater for 30 seconds.

World generation

Biomes

Template:BiomeLink

• A Minecraft:cave biome that generates underneath frozen, cold, or semi-cold surface biomes, similar to Minecraft:sulfur caves.
• On very rare occasions, they generate on the surface.
• Minecraft:Calcite, Minecraft:packed ice, Minecraft:icicles, Minecraft:ice crystals and sometimes patches of Minecraft:snow can generate here.
  • Giant speleothems made of packed ice can generate here.
  • Minecraft:Crevasses can generate here.
• Does not generate Minecraft:glow lichen.
• Higher chances of Minecraft:ores generating inside blobs of Minecraft:stone and Minecraft:deepslate.
• Common cave monsters along with Minecraft:strays and Minecraft:frostbites can spawn here.

Features

File:Crevasse.png Minecraft:Crevasse

• Small cracks in the terrain which generate in ice caves.
• Covered with Minecraft:brittle ice and filled with Minecraft:water below.

Sounds

Ice and its variants

• Added unique sounds for Minecraft:ice, Minecraft:packed ice, Minecraft:blue ice, and Minecraft:frosted ice.
• When a regular ice block is surrounded by at least 8 ice blocks in all horizontal directions (east, west, north, and south), with one air block above and one water block below, it has a chance to emit Minecraft:ambient sounds.

Changes

Blocks

Minecraft:Blue ice

• When water touches blue ice, it creates Minecraft:brittle ice.

File:Jukebox JE3.png Minecraft:Jukebox

• Changed its texture.
• Placing a Minecraft:chest, Minecraft:trapped chest, or any variant of Minecraft:copper chest directly above a jukebox causes it to play Minecraft:music discs as a playlist.
  • When there is no disc currently playing in it, the jukebox takes the first available music disc in the above chest and begins playing it.
  • When the disc is finished playing, the jukebox swaps it with the next available disc in the chest and begins playing that one.
  • Discs are taken and played in slot order, skipping empty slots and other non-music-disc items and looping back to the start when it reaches the last music disc in the chest.
  • Ejecting the current disc from the jukebox while it is still playing immediately plays the next available disc.
  • If the chest has no music discs, the disc in the jukebox plays again.
  • The tooltip of the next music disc includes the text “Playing next”.

Mobs

Minecraft:Drowned, Minecraft:husk, and Minecraft:zombie

• Now are immune to freezing.
• Zombie converts into a Minecraft:frostbite when in Minecraft:powder snow for 30 seconds.
• Drowned and husk converts into a zombie when in powder snow for 30 seconds.

File:Sulfur Cube Blue Ice JE2 BE2.png Minecraft:Sulfur Cube

• Added the cold archetype, obtained when a sulfur cube absorbs Minecraft:blue ice.
  • Same properties as hockey puck, but floats and can slide on frosted ice created by freezing water underneath them, like the Minecraft:Frost Walker echantment.

Gallery

Mojang images

• A view of some ice pillars and icicles from the ground in an Minecraft:ice cave
  A view of some ice pillars and icicles from the ground in an Minecraft:ice cave
• A view of the ice caves with a Minecraft:stray and Minecraft:frostbites
  A view of the ice caves with a Minecraft:stray and Minecraft:frostbites
• A frostbite in an ice cave
  A frostbite in an ice cave
• A frostbite attacking a player
  A frostbite attacking a player
• Lava flowing into an ice cave
  Lava flowing into an ice cave
• Minecraft:Ice crystals
  Minecraft:Ice crystals
• A cluster of Minecraft:icicles hanging from the top of an ice cave
  A cluster of Minecraft:icicles hanging from the top of an ice cave
• Minecraft:Kai with the Minecraft:Freezing effect and a Minecraft:potion of Freezing
  Minecraft:Kai with the Minecraft:Freezing effect and a Minecraft:potion of Freezing
• Adult and baby frostbites inside an ice cave
  Adult and baby frostbites inside an ice cave
• An ice cave illuminated by ice crystals and the eyes of a stray
  An ice cave illuminated by ice crystals and the eyes of a stray
• A Minecraft:jukebox in an ice cave
  A Minecraft:jukebox in an ice cave
• A Minecraft:crevasse inside the ice cave biome
  A Minecraft:crevasse inside the ice cave biome
• Minecraft:Makena relaxing on a Minecraft:brown cushion in an igloo, next to a jukebox
  Minecraft:Makena relaxing on a Minecraft:brown cushion in an igloo, next to a jukebox
• Minecraft:Ari walking on brittle ice
  Minecraft:Ari walking on brittle ice
• A brittle ice crevasse
  A brittle ice crevasse
• Ari throwing snowballs at Noor
  Ari throwing snowballs at Noor
• Zuri throwing ice balls at a frostbite in their igloo made from Minecraft:packed ice bricks
  Zuri throwing ice balls at a frostbite in their igloo made from Minecraft:packed ice bricks
• An ice castle
  An ice castle
• Ari experiencing ice sounds in a Minecraft:frozen ocean
  Ari experiencing ice sounds in a Minecraft:frozen ocean
• Kai ice fishing next to a base made of Minecraft:snow bricks
  Kai ice fishing next to a base made of Minecraft:snow bricks
• A build made using packed ice and snow bricks
  A build made using packed ice and snow bricks
• Statues made from snow bricks
  Statues made from snow bricks
• Several ice crystals
  Several ice crystals

Official artwork

• Minecraft:Steve freezing in some powdered snow with some item and block content from the game drop announced in the Minecraft Live visible above them
  Minecraft:Steve freezing in some powdered snow with some item and block content from the game drop announced in the Minecraft Live visible above them