Mojang are rolling out ‘Phase One’ of Minecraft’s Update Aquatic, the long-awaited update that adds undersea exploration to the game – including swimming, various types of fish, sunken treasure and more.
All players of the most recent edition of the game – that’s the Windows 10 version – should receive the undersea patch today, along with Xbox One, mobile, Gear VR, Oculus Rift and Mixed Reality Devices. Other versions of Minecraft, including the Java Edition, should get the Update Aquatic “very soon”.
Phase Two of the update is also “coming soon”, which will include the remaining features that we outlined in the original story (below).
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Here are all the new features that are being added in the Update Aquatic today, as revealed on the Minecraft website:
- Fish (salmon, cod, pufferfish, tropical fish)
- Bucket of fish
- Coral (coral, coral fans, coral blocks)
- Kelp, Dried Kelp, Kelp Block
- Dolphins (follow Minecraft boats, get a boost swimming next to them)
- Icebergs
- Blue Ice
- Nine Ocean Biomes (frozen, deep frozen, cold, deep cold, lukewarm, deep lukewarm, normal, deep normal, warm)
- Underwater Ravines & caves
- Sea grass
- Sea pickle (w/ illumination! Up to 4 in a block – only light up underwater)
- Shipwrecks
- Treasure chests (in ruins, shipwrecks)
- Ruins
- Swimming
- Treasure Map
- Buried Treasure
- Heart of the Sea in buried treasure chests (non-active)
- Trident
- Trident enchantment
- Stripped Logs
- Buttons, Trap Doors, Pressure Plates with variation
- Carved Pumpkins
- Floating Items
- Boat Polish (smoother control)
- 8 new achievements
- Water has a completely new look and increased visibility while underwater
- Prismarine Stairs and Slabs
- New swimming animation while sprinting in water
- Minecraft: Education Edition Chemistry features can now be enabled under Cheats! For tips on getting started, check out the Chemistry Lab Journal
Original story, November 20: Minecraft’s oceans are getting their biggest update ever. The Update Aquatic was announced at Minecon Earth, and is an overhaul of the entirety of the game’s sea life, arriving in Spring 2018.
The Update Aquatic will introduce a shipload of new features, from new fish, to explorable shipwrecks, and treasure-hunting dolphins. Of course, the oceans are also home to many of nature’s most terrifying creations, and as such you’ll need something to defend yourself with when you go exploring. As a result, The Update Aquatic is introducing a new weapon, the Minecraft trident, which can be upgraded to return to you automatically. You can watch a full rundown on The Update Aquatic, starring Minecraft’s lead creative designer Jens Bergensten, and Bojack Horseman and Arrested Development Star Will Arnett in the video above, in what is maybe one of the most off-brand game tie-ins I’ve ever seen.
Minecon Earth also had a new trailer for Minecraft’s Super Duper Graphics update. That was originally due for a release this year, but an announcement post from Mojang suggests it’ll be coming out next year instead as “there’s a lot of work to be done still.” You can watch a musical trailer for Super Duper graphics (starring Supergirl actress Melissa Benoist) below.
Finally, there’s a new server, provided by Minecraft server partner The Hive. They’re bringing Death Run, a fast-paced parkour mini-game to Minecraft “very soon.”