Minecraft 26.4 is the next Java Edition update, and it is still in snapshot testing. Mojang has released six 26.4 snapshots since September 22, 2026, and together they add the frosty game drop shown at Minecraft LIVE: Ice Caves, the Frostbite zombie, icicles, ice crystals, Brittle Ice, jukebox playlists, Packed Ice Bricks and Snow Bricks. This page lists everything new so far, snapshot by snapshot, using only Mojang’s own patch notes.
- Latest snapshot: 26.4 Snapshot 6, released October 27, 2026 at 13:40 UTC. The current full release is still Java 26.3.
- Biggest additions: the Ice Caves biome (Snapshot 3), the Frostbite mob and the Freezing effect (Snapshot 3), Brittle Ice and crevasses (Snapshot 4).
- Building blocks: Packed Ice Bricks with slabs, stairs, walls and a chiseled block (Snapshot 5), and Snow Bricks (Snapshot 6).
- Quality of life: jukebox playlists from a chest (Snapshot 4), Vulkan as the default graphics API (Snapshot 1), a redesigned F3 screen (Snapshot 2).
- Release date: Mojang has not announced one. No 26.4 pre-release is out yet.
- Checked: October 30, 2026, 20:50 UTC, against Mojang’s version manifest.
Table of Contents
Minecraft 26.4 snapshots: every snapshot at a glance
All six snapshots came out on a Tuesday, one per week. The dates below are the release times in Mojang’s version manifest (UTC).
| Snapshot | Released (UTC) | Headline changes | Data pack / resource pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26.4 Snapshot 1 | Sep 22, 2026 | Vulkan becomes the default graphics API; mushrooms placeable in any light; sulfur caves generate below pre-Caves & Cliffs chunks | 122.0 / 98.0 |
| 26.4 Snapshot 2 | Sep 29, 2026 | Improved render-distance fog, a sky occluder that hides the sun and moon below the horizon, redesigned F3 debug screen | 122.1 / 99.0 |
| 26.4 Snapshot 3 | Oct 6, 2026 | Ice Caves, Ice Crystals, Icicles, the Frostbite, the Freezing effect, Ice Balls; new Friends list and Other Players screen | 123.0 / 100.0 |
| 26.4 Snapshot 4 | Oct 13, 2026 | Brittle Ice, crevasses, jukebox playlists, custom ice sounds | 124.0 / 100.1 |
| 26.4 Snapshot 5 | Oct 20, 2026 | Packed Ice Bricks set, “What Goes Around Comes Around” advancement, experimental DXGI option on Windows | 125.0 / 100.2 |
| 26.4 Snapshot 6 | Oct 27, 2026 | Snow Bricks set, Cold Sulfur Cube archetype, automatic Java memory (heap) setting | 125.1 / 101.0 |
Ice Caves: the new cave biome
Snapshot 3 added the Ice Cave, a cave biome that generates under the colder biomes of the Overworld. According to Mojang’s notes, it is built mostly from Packed Ice and Calcite, with icicles hanging from the ceiling, large Packed Ice icicles on the floor and ceiling, and occasional snow patches and Ice Crystals on the ground.
Things worth knowing before you go caving:
- Ores still spawn. They sit in pockets of Stone or Deepslate (depending on height) inside the ice, and the ore list covers coal, copper, iron, gold, lapis, redstone and diamond.
- No Glow Lichen generates here, so bring your own light.
- Extra mobs: Strays and Frostbites can spawn on top of the usual cave mobs.
- Brittle Ice (Snapshot 4) covers crevasses, which Mojang’s Bedrock preview notes describe as winding, narrow ravines that may or may not have water at the bottom.
Ice Caves change world generation under cold biomes, so seeds checked on 26.3 can look different underground once 26.4 is out. Our best Minecraft seeds for 26.3 list will get a 26.4 check when the update releases.
Brittle Ice cracks underfoot, and a chest on a jukebox now works as a playlist (Snapshot 4). Image: Mojang Studios
The Frostbite mob and the Freezing effect
The Frostbite is a zombie variant built for the cold. It spawns in cold and icy biomes, switches between melee and ranged attacks depending on distance, and throws Ice Balls when it has them. Here is what the snapshots say about it:
- Melee hits apply Freezing; ranged attacks throw Ice Balls.
- Drops: Rotten Flesh and Ice Balls.
- Cold-proof: it can stand on Powder Snow, is immune to freezing and isn’t slowed by the Freezing effect. Since Snapshot 4 it can also walk on Brittle Ice without breaking it.
- Transformations: Zombies and Husks turn into Frostbites inside Powder Snow. Since Snapshot 4, a Drowned in Powder Snow becomes a Zombie first, then a Frostbite. A Frostbite that stays underwater long enough turns back into a Zombie.
Freezing is a new mob effect. It makes players shake and slowly freeze, as if standing in Powder Snow, and eventually deals damage. Leather Armor protects you from freezing, as it does in Powder Snow, but it doesn’t stop the effect from being applied or remove it. Mobs that are vulnerable to freezing take five times the damage. Since Snapshot 4, Zombies, Drowned and Husks are immune.
Ice Balls deal 4 damage (less at low speed) and knock targets back. They are also a brewing ingredient: Mojang’s notes say the Potion of Freezing and its Splash and Lingering versions are brewed with Ice Balls. Surround a Lingering Potion of Freezing with eight Arrows on a crafting table to make Arrows of Freezing. Snapshot 5 added the “What Goes Around Comes Around” advancement for killing a Frostbite with an Ice Ball.
Icicles and Ice Crystals
| Block | What it does | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Icicle | Works like Dripstone and Sulfur Spikes: damages entities when it falls and deals extra damage to anything that lands on it. Grows up to 5 blocks long pointing down, only away from light and outside the Nether. Breaks near light sources or in the Nether. | Ice Cave ceilings |
| Ice Crystal | A light-emitting cluster like an Amethyst Cluster; placeable in any direction; breaks if its support block is removed. Since Snapshot 6 it can play an ambient sound when Packed Ice is below it. | Ice Cave floors |
| Brittle Ice | Cracks and then breaks once a player or mob steps on it. Frostbites (and, since Snapshot 6, Strays) don’t crack it. | Ice Caves, over crevasses |
Brittle Ice can be collected with Silk Touch. You can also make it: water flowing onto a Blue Ice block turns any water block bordering it horizontally into Brittle Ice. Snapshot 4 also stopped Ice, Frosted Ice and Brittle Ice from showing their inside faces when placed next to each other.
Jukebox playlists: how they work
Snapshot 4 turned the jukebox into a playlist player. Place a single Chest, Trapped Chest or any Copper Chest directly on top of a Jukebox, and fill the chest with Music Discs.
- Discs play in slot order. Empty slots and items that aren’t music discs are skipped, and the list loops back to the start.
- When a disc finishes, the Jukebox swaps it for the next disc in the chest.
- Ejecting the current disc skips to the next one.
- If the chest has no discs, the disc in the Jukebox simply repeats.
Packed Ice Bricks, craftable from 2×2 Packed Ice and cut in the Stonecutter (Snapshot 5). Image: Mojang Studios
New building blocks: Packed Ice Bricks and Snow Bricks
| Block set | Snapshot | Recipe | Variants | Stonecutter? | Tool to keep the drop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packed Ice Bricks | 5 | 2×2 Packed Ice | Slab, Stair, Wall, Chiseled Packed Ice | Yes | Pickaxe (since Snapshot 6) |
| Snow Bricks | 6 | 2×2 Snow Blocks | Slab, Stair, Wall | No | Shovel |
Both sets belong to the Fast Sliding Sulfur Cube archetype, which matters if you build with Sulfur Cubes. Mojang’s Bedrock notes add that Snow Bricks don’t melt.
The Cold Sulfur Cube
Snapshot 6 added a special Sulfur Cube archetype. Give a Sulfur Cube a Blue Ice block and it becomes a Cold Sulfur Cube: it behaves like the Fast Sliding archetype, but it floats and, when it moves, turns the water below it into a disk of Frosted Ice, much like the Frost Walker enchantment. It needs air above the water to place ice, and it only does so when it starts moving from the ground.
Snow Brick builds and Cold Sulfur Cubes, which freeze water as they move (Snapshot 6). Image: Mojang Studios
Graphics, performance and menu changes in 26.4
- Vulkan by default (Snapshot 1): the “Default” Graphics API setting now behaves like “Prefer Vulkan”, and the game no longer switches API on its own after a startup crash. If you use shaders, check our best Minecraft shaders for 26.3 guide; shader mods need their own 26.4 builds.
- Better fog and sky (Snapshot 2): with “Improved Transparency” on, the sky and clouds blend into the render-distance fog, hiding the edge of the world. In the Overworld, the lower half of the sky now hides the sun, moon and stars.
- New F3 screen (Snapshot 2): the debug overlay was redesigned to be easier to read.
- Friends and Other Players (Snapshot 3): the Friends list got search and sorting (online first or alphabetical), and the Social Interactions screen was replaced by “Other Players” (P by default), which works on LAN worlds, servers and Realms and also lists players who just left or recently chatted.
- DXGI option (Snapshot 5): an experimental, Windows-only “Prefer DXGI Present” setting, off by default, which Mojang says may help IME input, Variable Refresh Rate and alt-tabbing in fullscreen.
- Automatic memory (Snapshot 6): the game now sets its Java heap from your RAM, up to 25% with a maximum of 4 GB.
- Commands (Snapshot 1):
/fillbiomenow fills biomes with block accuracy. Our Minecraft commands list covers the current 26.3 syntax.
How to play the Minecraft 26.4 snapshot
- Open the Minecraft Launcher and select Minecraft: Java Edition.
- Go to the “Installations” tab and turn on “Snapshots”.
- Launch the snapshot installation; the newest one is 26.4-snapshot-6.
Mojang warns that test versions can corrupt your world, so back it up or run the snapshot in a separate game folder from your main worlds. Snapshots are Java only. On Bedrock, the same game drop is being tested in Minecraft Preview (Xbox, PlayStation, Windows, iOS) and the Android beta: preview 26.60.29 (September 30) listed Ice Caves and the Frostbite under Experimental Features, and 26.70.20 to 26.70.22 added Brittle Ice, jukebox playlists, Packed Ice Bricks and Snow Bricks under “Drop 4 of 2026”. Mojang wants feedback on the drop at its feedback site.
Minecraft 26.4 release date: what Mojang has said
Nothing yet. Mojang has not announced a release date for 26.4 or a name for the drop, and its Bedrock notes only call it “Drop 4 of 2026”. The version manifest lists no 26.4 pre-release or release candidate as of October 30. For comparison, the 26.3 cycle went from Pre-Release 1 on September 1 to the full release on September 15, so the first 26.4 pre-release will be the clearest sign the update is close. We will update this page when Mojang posts a new snapshot or a date. If you’re on Switch 2, our Minecraft Switch 2 upgrade guide explains the console edition.
FAQ
What is the latest Minecraft 26.4 snapshot?
26.4 Snapshot 6, released October 27, 2026. It added Snow Bricks and the Cold Sulfur Cube. Checked October 30, 2026.
When does Minecraft 26.4 come out?
Mojang hasn’t given a date. Snapshots are still running, and no pre-release has appeared yet.
What is new in Minecraft 26.4?
So far: Ice Caves, the Frostbite, the Freezing effect and Potion of Freezing, Ice Balls, Icicles, Ice Crystals, Brittle Ice, crevasses, jukebox playlists, Packed Ice Bricks, Snow Bricks and the Cold Sulfur Cube, plus Vulkan by default and a new F3 screen.
When was Minecraft 26.4 Snapshot 3 released?
October 6, 2026. It is the snapshot that first added Ice Caves and the Frostbite.
Can I play the 26.4 features on Bedrock?
Yes, in Minecraft Preview or the Android beta, not in the regular game. Mojang’s Bedrock preview notes list the same Ice Cave, Frostbite and block features under “Drop 4 of 2026”.
Sources: Mojang’s Java Edition snapshot notes for 26.4 Snapshot 3, Snapshot 4, Snapshot 5 and Snapshot 6 (also published on minecraft.net and in the Minecraft Launcher’s patch notes, which hold Snapshots 1 and 2); Mojang’s version manifest; Minecraft Beta & Preview notes 26.60.29, 26.70.20, 26.70.21 and 26.70.22.
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Featured image: Mojang Studios
