Minecraft:Mentioned features/Red Dragon

File:Red Dragon (Real).jpg

Screenshot by kingbdogz of an Minecraft:ender dragon taking damage, making it appear like a red dragon.

The red dragon was a planned Minecraft:mob that was mentioned a few times during development, but has no current plans of being added to the game.

History

Minecraft:Markus Persson first mentioned adding dragons in August 2010 after the addition of Minecraft:Spider Jockeys in the Minecraft:Seecret Friday 8 update.<ref name=first-tweet>Template:Tweet</ref>

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So skeleton archers riding giant jumping spiders is overpowered? Just wait until I add dragons!

One month later, during Minecraft:MinecraftCon 2010, he mentioned dragons once again.<ref name=minecraftcon-transcript>MinecraftCon 2010: gamestick stream transcription – Stickman on the Minecraft:Minecraft Forum, September 2, 2010</ref>

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Dragons. Polar bears in winter. Sea update will include Minecraft:coral, Minecraft:fish. Goblin villages may not just be Minecraft:goblins, and will hate, not care, or like you. You can influence how much they like you. Unique items in village chests.

On October 12, 2011, he announced on Twitter that after the addition of the Minecraft:ender dragon, he was planning to add "slightly less dangerous" red dragons, which would be able to land and wouldn't destroy terrain.<ref name=red-dragon>Template:Tweet</ref>

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After release, I will totally work on slightly less dangerous dragons that don't destroy terrain and can land and whatnot. They will be red.

In a Template:W thread on the same day, when questioned about how ender dragons destroy blocks in the overworld, he noted that implementing the dragon's AI for avoiding walls was challenging to implement, and therefore the team decided to make it break blocks.<ref>Template:Reddit2</ref> He said that "less overpowered" red dragons in the Overworld that wouldn't go through terrain would eventually be added.<ref name=different-dragons>Template:Reddit2</ref>

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They will be different dragons. The Enderdragon will probably become larger, and the ones in the main world will be this size, won't go through terrain, and will be red because dragons are red.

In an AMA on Reddit on April 9, 2012, Minecraft:Jens Bergensten was asked about the red dragon, where he said that he would need to follow up on Notch's promise, but was unsure exactly how.<ref name=jeb>Template:Reddit</ref>

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Well since Notch more or less promised red dragons, I think I need to add them. I'm just not sure how yet...

On October 22, 2013, Minecraft:Nathan Adams tweeted that the red dragon is shelved and not in development.<ref name=dinnerbone>Template:Tweet</ref> After being asked about it again on December 15, 2013, he replied on Reddit that the red dragon would be added at some point, but not "right now".<ref name=dinnerbone2>Template:Reddit</ref>

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It was never promised, we have no plans to add a red dragon at this time.

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I'm sure one day there will be. Not right now though.

In November 2022, Minecraft:Brandon Pearce joked about the red dragon by pointing out that the ender dragon looks red when being damaged.<ref name=kingbdogz>Template:Tweet</ref>

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DID YOU KNOW?? red dragon already exists you just gotta hit the ender dragon and it appears for a split second

On February 24, 2026, Minecraft:Jens Bergensten was asked when the last time anyone at Minecraft:Mojang Studios seriously discussed the red dragon, where he said that they still do occasionally, but not from a development perspective.<ref name=jeb2>Template:Bluesky</ref>

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Yes, we talk about it from time to time, but usually in the context of the "old days when we tweeted a lot".

Trivia

• One of the winners of the Minecraft:MINECON 2013 costume contest was a Red Dragon.<ref>Template:Ytl</ref>