Minecraft 26.4: preview for serversWhat the winter drop brings and what server owners should know now

Published on November 1, 2026

The current state

The stable version is still Minecraft 26.3. Mojang has not named a date for 26.4 so far. It is the last drop of the year, and earlier winter drops mostly came out in December - but that is no more than an estimate.

Everything on this page comes from the snapshots. A lot can still change before the stable version, both values and entire features. We will keep this page up to date until 26.4 is out.

What the snapshots contain so far

• Ice Caves: caves beneath cold Overworld biomes, with icicles and ice crystals.
• Frostbite: a zombie variant that throws Ice Balls and inflicts the new Freezing effect in melee. Zombies and husks turn into Frostbites in powder snow.
• Freezing: a new effect, plus a potion and arrows with this effect.
• New blocks: Brittle Ice, Packed Ice Bricks and Snow Bricks, each with slabs, stairs and walls, plus Chiseled Packed Ice.
• Smaller additions: jukebox playlists and a cold archetype for the Sulfur Cube, triggered by Blue Ice.

A griefing change is of interest for servers too: mobs can now destroy Decorated Pots, Chorus Flowers and Speleothems with projectiles unless mob_griefing is set to false. If griefing is already switched off on your server, you are not affected.

Why a snapshot does not belong on your server

Snapshots are test versions. They are meant for curious players and developers, not for a world you care about:

• No way back: a world that has been opened in a snapshot cannot reliably be used in 26.3 again.
• Damaged worlds are possible: test versions contain bugs. So always back up your world first.
• Plugins and mods are missing: Paper, Fabric and others only follow later. A plugin server generally does not run on a snapshot.
• Everyone has to keep up: every player needs exactly the same snapshot, and that changes almost every week.

If you want to try the new content, it is best to use a separate test world, locally in the launcher or on a test server of its own. The production server stays on 26.3.

What server owners can expect

So the Java switch is no issue: if your server runs on 26.3, the runtime already fits. You should, however, plan ahead for your own data packs, because the pack format changes with almost every snapshot. The final value is only settled with the stable version.

How to prepare

1. Set up backups. Backups are self-service with us, via WebFTP or SFTP, see Create backups. Make it a habit before the update arrives.
2. List your plugins. Note which plugins your server really needs. After the release, you check exactly this list.
3. Do not update on day one. Wait until Paper or your loader has a stable build and your most important plugins have caught up.
4. Plan the world. Like all new content, ice caves only appear in new chunks. Consider whether to move on across the old map or to start fresh.

The actual change then works as with every version, see Change the version.

Frequently asked questions