Minecraft Live: The Sift Is the First New Dimension Since 2011

Minecraft
The Sift and the Ice Caves

Author:

Watty
Category:

Minecraft
Date:

Oct 6, 2026

Minecraft Live ran on 26 September, and it ended a wait that has lasted since 2011. Minecraft is getting a fourth dimension.

The Sift

The Sift is a new dimension coming to Java and Bedrock in 2027, the first since the End arrived in 2011. It was seen first in Minecraft Dungeons II, which launched on 29 September, and it will sit alongside the Overworld, the Nether and the End as somewhere you can actually travel to.

What is known so far: three biomes, an orange meadow, green sift plains and a white forest, with white trees that have thick trunks and weeping foliage, sift stone and sift dirt underfoot, and a small passive rabbit-like mob called the blub. It has not turned up in a snapshot yet, so treat all of that as early.

"Minecraft has had the same three dimensions since 2011. In 2027 it gets a fourth. It does not add places often, which is exactly why this matters."

The Exiles

Ice caves come first

Before any of that, the next game drop goes underground and cold. Mojang's own summary: "Explore the ice caves, battle the frozen zombie, fight with ice balls, and build with ice crystals and icicles." The frozen zombie is the new hostile mob, and if it goes badly there is a Freezing potion to fall back on. Snapshots and previews are running now, so you can test it before it ships.

Switch 2 on 27 October

Nintendo has confirmed Minecraft arrives on Switch 2 on 27 October, with Vibrant Visuals set as the default: better lighting and shadows out of the box. Worth reading the small print, though. Nintendo notes it is "not available in some gameplay, including split-screen and when using certain Marketplace Worlds and content". Existing Switch owners get "a digital upgrade path", with details still to come.

What this means for our server

As ever, our own server ExilesMC Aero runs a modded pack on Minecraft 1.21.1, so vanilla drops and dimensions land on their own schedule rather than ours. All of the above is for your vanilla worlds, Realms and single player. If you want to talk builds either way, or see what the Aero pack is about, come and say hello in our Discord, and the ExilesMC hub has the details. New builders welcome.

Further reading: Minecraft: everything you can test from the next drop | Nintendo: Minecraft on Switch 2 | The Exiles ExilesMC hub