Minecraft 26.1: Features, New Mobs, Biomes, Release Date & More

The Spring drop in Minecraft is about to arrive, and the snapshots and previews focus on the smallest and fluffiest parts of the game. Yes, the baby mobs will be getting a massive visual upgrade, making them undeniably cuter. But not just their looks, the brand new sounds and animations will obviously bring out a soft “aww” every time they come close to you. With that said, let’s break down everything we know so far for the Minecraft 26.1 update and a little bit of what we can reasonably expect.

Editor’s Note: last updated on January 8, 2025, to include new features in the Spring drop

When is the Next Minecraft Update?

We can expect the next Minecraft update, 26.1, to be released towards the end of March. We can make this speculation from the previous release patterns that give us a solid clue about the Minecraft 26.1 drop’s timing. Since The Garden Awakens was released, Mojang has leaned in heavily towards a game drop system, releasing content throughout the year, instead of a massive overhaul.

Building on this, we see that last year, the Spring-themed update Spring to Life was released on March 25, 2025. And, we saw a similar trend of releasing new drops at the end of each quarter. So, unless the development hits a snag, we will be playing with our fluffy companions by March end.

Although Mojang has not made it official, we will update this page once we get the Minecraft 26.1 release date.

What is the Next Minecraft Update Called?

We can predict that the Minecraft 26.1 update, releasing this spring, to be called “Cute Companions.“

While Mojang has not revealed a flashy name for the next Minecraft update, all signs are pointing towards the cute baby animals. Well, with the brand new year, Minecraft is going to follow a new versioning system. So, in Minecraft 26.1, the value ‘26‘ refers to the year 2026, and ‘.1‘ refers to the first game drop.

All New Biomes in Minecraft 26.1 Update

As of now, there are no new biomes that are confirmed to be released in Minecraft 26.1. But honestly, I feel that’s okay because the next update is going to be focused more on introducing cuter mobs in the game.

However, players are always dreaming of a brand new biome, and so am I. After the Pale Garden in Minecraft, a fair part of the community has been asking for peaceful and roleplay-friendly biomes.

Among all sorts of innovative ideas floating around, I feel that a Hot Springs biome would be a perfect fit. Alongside the ponds and open lava pools, we will also notice a few misty water pools in Minecraft’s Overworld. Imagine how cool it would look with the gentle steam being released quietly and the wildlife casually wandering around it. Moreover, just the thought of finding new minerals around the hot water springs and using them in unique crafting recipes is thrilling to me.

All New Mobs in the Minecraft Spring Drop

New Baby Mob Models

The highlight of the next Minecraft update lies in the revamped baby mobs. Until now, these animals were just a smaller version of their adult counterparts, having enormous heads and tiny bodies. But the Spring drop is going to completely change this with the new baby mob models and textures.

Each baby mob is designed uniquely, and the following animals will be receiving the updated textures: cow, sheep, pig, chicken, cat, ocelot, wolf, mooshroom, and rabbit. The new designs are fluffier and more expressive with all the new baby animal sounds.

However, with the latest Minecraft 26.1 Snapshot 2, the rabbits have received special attention as both the adult and baby versions have new animations. Another important change in all the baby models is that the baby chickens are now yellow in color and look more like Flappy Bird.

Adding to the texture changes, the baby pigs, cats, and wolves now have exclusive sounds. They will now emit softer and squeakier sounds that genuinely feel adorable in Minecraft.

All Additional Features of Minecraft 26.1 Update

1. Craftable Name Tags

The second meaningful addition to the Spring drop is the craftable Name Tag. Previously, you could only get these from the loot chests found in the dungeons, mineshafts, Ancient Cities, and Woodland Mansions. But now, you can craft these by using 1 Paper and any 1 Metal Nugget.

Simply open up the crafting table, place a paper on any cell, and any metal nugget (Copper, Iron, or Gold) on the diagonally right cell. Introducing this recipe perfectly supports the update’s theme of bonding with mobs.

2. Spawn Egg Changes

If you enjoy Minecraft in creative mode, there is good news for you all. Now, there is no need to find a couple of animals and breed them to get their baby variants. All you need is the respective mob egg, point it towards the mob, and right-click to spawn the baby.

3. Visual, Lighting, and Performance Improvements

Beyond the new Minecraft 26.1 features, the lighting has been improved, the texture quality is made better, flickering or bug rendering is reduced, and the default RAM allocation is also increased for smoother gameplay.

Other than that, a bunch of items have been polished that you might not notice as well. These include cleaner menus, better marketplace skin handling, text input bugs being fixed, and accessibility options being improved.

And that is all about the new features, mobs, biomes, and the release date speculation for the next Minecraft 26.1 update. So, are you excited to check these features in the next update? Tell us in the comments below.