Every year Mojang hosts ‘Minecraft Live’, a live streamed event that allows the developers to talk about Minecraft and reveal any upcoming updates for the next year. This year was no exception, with Minecraft Live 2023 having come and gone with distinct highs and lows for the near future of the game.

The biggest announcement for Minecraft Live, as always, is the next version of Minecraft being teased. Update 1.21, currently without a catchy nickname, has had its initial features showcased. Most prescient are the ‘Trial Chambers’, new underground structures that challenge the player to fight through hordes of mobs spawned by the ‘Trial Spawner’. These trial spawners adjust the difficulty of the chambers based on the number of players who enter, showcasing the first case of difficulty scaling in Minecraft.

Part of these trials is the new hostile mob ‘Breeze’. A wind-based variant of the ‘Blaze’, this gusty goon blows players back. Not only inconvenient, this also hurts the player upon them hitting a wall, making this another first for the game with knockback-based damage. 

Also new in the trial chambers are decorative blocks. With more variants being crafted from copper, and tuff getting more depth to make it in line with the other stones, the textures and colours being introduced to the block palette is also a sizable addition. This isn’t including copper versions of the door and trapdoor which are certain to have some Redstone functionality.

The biggest announcement for 1.21 is easily the introduction of ‘The Crafter’. For years fans have been clamouring for an auto-crafter to be added to the game, which would improve the efficiency of many farms and revolutionise possibilities in the game. Not only is this an important addition for the game, but in a development sense this is a feature Mojang has refused to add for years. Therefore its current inclusion may pave a path for many features they have previously rejected like vertical slabs.

While all of these are positive additions to the game, Minecraft Live 2023 was not without controversy. Part of the ‘Minecraft Live tradition’ is to include a mob or biome vote, putting several options for potential additions to the game to the player base to choose from. These are generally a basic concept that Mojang will expand upon when the winner is chosen. 

A good idea for audience participation, these votes have garnered plenty of upset. From Mojang not properly explaining the concepts making players feel like they receive something they did not vote for, to influential creators swaying the results of the vote to an option fans were not happy with, there have been troubles in the past. This year was no exception for this controversy.

Giving players the choice between crabs, armadillos, and penguins; these mobs each came with a new feature: longer reach, wolf armour, and faster boats. As all three mobs are based on real life animals, many participants felt them controversial as no loser of a mob vote has yet to be implemented, therefore creating a sense that two real life animals would be barred from the game. This sparked a wave of people criticising the mob vote and Mojang’s insistence on adhering to it forming the hashtag #stopthemobvote, and even a petition with over 500,000 signatures.

The winner of the vote, the armadillo, will be added to the game in the upcoming 1.21 with wolf armour, although more about both are not yet known. Whether the outcry of the mob vote in general at this Minecon will impact future events is also unknown.

Other announcements outside of the main Minecraft game are new DLC packs for the Bedrock edition, one featuring Star Wars and the other David Attenbourogh’s Planet Earth III. Moreover, Minecraft Legends, the RTS spin-off, will also be receiving another update.

Minecraft Live 2023 proved to be a mixed bag for the eager fans expecting more Minecraft news. While some additions and announcements are, quite literally, game-changing, others felt flat. All of this is, as well, ignoring the controversy that these events are garnering amongst the playerbase.

Watch the Minecraft Live 2023 announcement video here:

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