Minecraft:Chase the Skies

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Key artwork

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 Visuals Template: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.

Template:Crafting

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.

Template:Crafting

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:InvSprite Template: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

Template:Main

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

Template:See also

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
Name	Icon	Render	Type	Rarity	Obtaining
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	Rare File:Rarity rare.png	Require players to feed 1 Million ghastlings with snowballs.