The End Update is Coming...

These days, there seems to be one question on every Minecrafter's mind. Where is the end update? And I think I know the answer. Better yet, I think I know what's going to be in the end update. Over the past year, I've had the incredible opportunity to attend the Minecraft movie premiere, visit the Mojang offices in Sweden, and have dozens of one-on-one conversations with Mojang employees. And while they're very careful not to give anything specific away, sometimes you can almost tell what someone's thinking, even if they don't say it. Which is partly why I actually think Mojang has been working on this update for quite some time now. Potentially for years. Kiedy w końcu będzie aktualizacja endu?

But you don't have to just take my word for it. In this interview from August 2025, Uraf, a game designer at Mojang, supposedly said an end update is inevitable. Unfortunately, this interview was conducted in Hebrew, which I don't speak, but if this Twitter user's summary is accurate, then URF also said that a very major update is currently in development. Believe it or not, we're currently experiencing the biggest gap between major updates the game has ever seen.

To understand the full context of what that means, we need to take a brief dive into the history of the game. Minecraft's timeline can be split into two sections, development and full release. Following the game's full release in 2011, there have been three major eras to the game's updates. From 2011 to 2016, the game continued updating in a similar way that it had back in beta.

But after the combat update in 2016, Java and Bedrock Edition became more synchronized, the development team expanded, and the update cadence shifted towards one major themed update a year. Now we're in the third era, marked by Mojang's recent shift to the Game Drop system. So why does all this matter?

Well, I think the number of days between updates paints a pretty telling story. During the first era of full release, updates came out every 100 to 130 days on average. But then, after 1.8, the Bountiful update, the game had its largest ever gap between releases. 2015 became the first year to not see a major update added. In total, it would be 545 days before 1.9 was finally released on Leap Day in 2016. And what did it finally add?

That's right, an end update. The Dragon Fight was adjusted, End Cities and Chorus Fruit were added, and Shulkers and Elytras made their way into the game. Fast forward to today, and we've entered the Game Drops era. Following some unfortunate PR missteps surrounding the 1.19 Wild update, the community opinion on Mojang significantly soured, with many players accusing the developers of becoming lazy.

In response, Mojang announced a complete overhaul of their development process, promising a shift away from major-themed updates towards smaller, more frequent additions to the game, called Game Drops. And so far, they have absolutely delivered, lowering the average time between drops down to around 90 days, the shortest it's ever been since the game fully released.

We've been enjoying new game content about once a quarter in 2025, and from what I gather, Mojang is pretty pleased with the new system. But they've also said that they still plan on doing major updates, which is further reinforced by the fact that we still haven't seen a version number 1.22. Each game drop following the Tricky Trials update has kept the 1.21 prefix. This all means that assuming we don't see a major update for the remainder of 2025, which is likely given we're still waiting on the release of the Winter Game Drop Mounts

of Mayhem, we're going to blow past the previous record of 545 days between major releases. And with the community demand for an end update at an all-time high, to the point where it's become a meme, and the historic precedent of 1.9, all signs point to an end update coming within the next few years. But how do we narrow that down even further? I think the first place to start is by assuming that game drops will continue to be introduced about once a quarter.

When a major update does come to the game, it'll likely take one of these GameDrop release slots, meaning we've got eight potential quarters in the next two years that the end update could land. For an update this major, it's much more likely that it'll be revealed at Minecraft Live. And so far, the two Minecraft Live shows each year have revealed the summer and winter GameDrops. That leaves us four potential slots

for the end update to be announced. But now here's where things get really interesting. A Minecraft movie released on April 4th, 2025, absolutely smashing all of its box office expectations. The film grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide, earning $163 million domestically and over $300 million globally in the opening weekend alone.

In fact, on IMDB's list of the top grossing films of all time, it comes in 69th. Nice. So naturally, Warner Bros. quickly got a sequel into production. And currently, we don't know a whole lot about it, other than that it'll likely include Alex, whose character was teased at the end of the first movie. The movie poster also includes two pickaxes,

which makes it even more likely that the film will center around Steve and Alex. But the movie poster also included a release date, July 23rd, 2027. Do you see where I'm going with this? The first movie was all about the Nether, with the main antagonist being the Piglins, but the End Dimension was not visited at all in the movie, leaving it as a prime setting for the sequel. And just like how the Chase the Skies drop released right after a Minecraft movie, tying

the happy gas into the movie's depiction of gas as transportation method for the Piglins, it would make a lot of sense for the End Update to release right around the time of the new Minecraft movie. Another reason that I think this summer 2027 slot is so likely is because we already have some insight into how far ahead Mojang plans. In that same URAF interview that we mentioned earlier, he apparently states that Mojang has a 50 plus year vision for the game, but he also specifically mentions that they have loose content plans extending to 2028. Now, to be fair, there are some other popular suggestions for updates that the community has rallied around, most of which stem from unused or shelved ideas from the past.

For example, some people want to see a transportation update that includes the experimental mine cart changes from 2024. Others have suggested bundling the past biome vote ideas for the desert, savannah, and badlands into some sort of dry biome update. And many people still would like a new combat update that includes some of the experimental features from the combat tests done way back in 2019. Not to mention all the players who want to see the mysterious structure

in the middle of the ancient cities become some sort of portal to a brand new Skulk dimension. But I think by far the most popular is of course the end update. I even did a poll on my channel to back this up and the end update won in a landslide. So to me, everything seems to line up. The schedule, the movie, the planning, the demand. Therefore, my best guess based on all the observations I've made would be a summer 2027 end update. But the when is only half the story. We've still got to talk about what's actually going to be in the end update. But before we do, I've got some holiday shopping to take care of.

Lucky for me, my favorite watch and jewelry brand, Holtzkkaren is having their biggest sale of the year where you can get up to 30% off. Their uniqueness and dedication to craft really makes their products stand out, and I absolutely love their use of natural materials. Like they have watches made of leaves and purses made of wood and stone. I didn't even know that was possible. That's why it was my first thought when it came time to buy gifts for my family this season. Ever since we worked together earlier this year, I've worn the necklace I got from them whenever I have a special occasion. Not only is it extremely durable, but it's the perfect accessory to help take any fit to the next level. This time around I picked out a watch for myself. I've honestly never been a watch guy because usually having something on my wrist kind of bothers me, but the watch is so light, high quality,

and comfortable, I barely notice it on my wrist at all. And what really resonated with me is that Holtzkaren makes small batch, a the year is for a limited time only, so please, take advantage of up to 30% off by clicking my link in the description or the pinned comment. Whether it's a gift for a loved one, a present to yourself, or just because, don't miss out on the opportunity for a truly great deal. So we have a pretty solid idea of when an end update might arrive, but what would an end update actually look like? Once again, the URAF interview sheds a little bit of light on where we could be headed. According to the Twitter translation, it'll focus on a Wasteland vibe, with minimal biomes,

new blocks and mobs, and an improved dragon fight. Current Edmonds with lots of biomes and structures are not what the devs want. But I think it's super important to note that Uraf himself was careful to clarify in a Reddit thread that this conversation was about, quote, things I am personally excited about and my thoughts about what would be fun for Minecraft in the future. So it seems to me like this is just one developers personal thoughts, not representative of Mojang as a whole. So the next place to look for hints about the update are the community's main criticisms of the end. In other words, what needs fixing?

From what I can tell there are a few major issues that most people have with the current end dimension. The first one basically boils down to it's just too boring. Aside from the dragon fight, you essentially have one biome, one plant, one structure, and one unique mob. And while there is part of the community that likes the barren, almost creepy feeling of the end dimension, I think that most people would agree that if done properly, an end update could easily preserve those vibes while still adding loads more reasons to visit the dimension.

There's a lot of speculation that the end is inspired by Zen, the alien border dimension from the Half-Life series. But even Zen manages to pack in lots of interesting flora and fauna while remaining barren and unsettling, providing a good template for how an end update could feel. Because let's face it, once you get an Elytra

and enough shulker boxes, there's really no reason to ever visit the end again. And that's for the people who even visit at all. Which brings me to the next main issue with the end dimension. Accessibility. I ran a poll on my channel that got close to half a million votes, and almost a quarter of all respondents had never made it to the end in survival. This reddit comment analyzing the bedrock edition xbox achievement data estimates that only about 10% of bedrock players actually make it to the end dimension in survival. You need to collect a bunch of ender pearls, go to the nether for blaze rods, and then craft enough eyes of ender to both locate the stronghold and fill in the portal.

This isn't even really possible in peaceful mode, and the player is given very little guidance on any of this, with advancements being pretty much the only hint. One of my favorite Minecraft let's plays is called Pyropito, and it features this Japanese Japanese man playing the game completely blind without any guides or help. It took him 78 episodes just to find the end portal, and when he did, he had no idea what to do with it at first. But although I do think accessibility is important, I should also point out that many of the players

who haven't been to the end dimension may simply be choosing not to go because of the lack of features found there. It's difficult to choose a third big issue wrong with the end dimension. Instead I've mostly seen some smaller gripes. People would really like more verticality, putting all of the end islands at different heights instead of on the same level as each other.

And many players have also suggested that the islands should have some sort of caves. Players on servers would like the trial chamber vaults to be implemented on end ships so that multiple players can loot the same end ship and each get an elytra. The easiest issue to fix is that the end is too boring. I think the nether had a similar problem before the nether update introduced a lot of variety to the dimension. Therefore, I think our very best template for theorizing how the end update will be introduced is the Nether Update. While the Nether is much more dense and full of life than

the end, I think the format of the update still holds a lot of clues for what an end update for Mojang would actually look like. It's also pretty much the most popular and well-received update the game has ever seen, so if I were Mojang, I'd be looking very closely at how the Nether update was structured when approaching an end update. The Nether update really did have it all. It introduced new structures, new biomes, new mobs, and loads of new blocks. So let's break down each feature one by one and try to make our best guess about what their end equivalent would be. We'll start with blocks, and there are quite a few of them to talk about, so we'll have

a few different categories here. First up is ores, and the Nether update actually added two of them. Most people think of Netherite, and that was the only original ore added. But 1.16 also introduced Nether Gold Ore, a new variant of gold. This means that the Nether has three ores in total, and the N dimension has none at all. For a game with mine as half the title, I think that's a shame. So I think it's pretty likely that the N could get at least one new ore with a unique

function. look like, I think it's obvious that Mojang tries to use different colors for all their ores. At this point, there isn't that much room left in the rainbow, but something dark cyan or magenta could definitely still stand out and fit the vibe of the end dimension. Not to mention, it would likely be added as a new color option for armor trims, which could definitely use either option. When it comes to function, Netherite has the unique property of not burning in lava, which is the main hazard of the nether dimension. So it could be interesting to see an ore that could somehow combat the end's main hazard, the void. For example, if you coated your tools or

armor with this gem and then fell into the void, maybe those items would have some sort of anti gravity property that allowed you to come back and collect them. I could see players having a set of tools for working in the nether and a separate set for ore to the end with a new end stone variant, but I feel like this is a bit less likely because for the end to feel truly alien and desolate, it probably shouldn't have any overlapping minerals with the overworld. The next block category is redstone. The nether update added the target block, which has cemented itself as a super useful component in a redstoner's toolkit. But I think

if we were to see a redstone block added to an end update, it would probably take a similar form to the Skulk Sensor. The Skulk Sensor looks more like an organic part of the Deep Dark environment than a machine, but it emits a redstone signal based on vibrations around it. This fits perfectly with the Warden Mob, who's blind but senses the player through vibrations and smell. But while the Deep Dark is all about vibration, the End is all about teleportation, so I could definitely foresee some sort of Ender-powered teleportation block that could be manipulated in some way with a redstone signal.

Unfortunately, I'm not really a redstone guy, so I'm not really sure what component would be useful here. But since Mojang has embraced ender stasis chambers, I wouldn't be surprised if they added a block that has a similar functionality. The same way they embraced bud switches

and then eventually added observers. Another block the nether update added is the respawn anchor, and I think there's a very strong likelihood that an end update would also include a block that basically functions as an end bed, allowing a player to respawn in the end dimension. The most obvious thing would be to basically just make an end themed reskin of the respawn anchor, and instead of charging up with glowstone, you'd charge it up with something more thematic like eyes of ender.

Call it like the respawn column or something and you're good to go. But Mojang could also get super creative here and add some sort of end sarcophagus or some other fun way to set your spawn in the end. Whatever the block ends up being, it's most likely going to explode in the Nether and Overworld to keep the tradition going and complete the triad of dimensional beds. One block that was pretty unique in the Nether update was the lodestone, which can be paired with a compass to easily mark locations in your world in any dimension. And I definitely wouldn't be surprised if an end update also added some sort of oddball feature

that doesn't currently exist in the game. This is especially likely since the end is such a huge part of the late game progression and survival. Now, of course, I have no idea what new mechanic Mojang would add, but I do have some loose ideas of my own.

A while back, there was this rumor going around gonna be added to the game, and I actually kind of like the idea of an edible cheese blocker item that would prevent status effects on the player for a short amount of time. Sort of like how milk buckets clear status effects. This would be super useful for avoiding the levitation effect that shulker bullets give you, allowing you to quickly raid an end city as long as you have enough cheese. It could also be useful for getting around the mining fatigue the warden, but it'd probably have to be pretty difficult to get or it'd be way too overpowered. The new mechanic could also come in the form of an item found in loot chests.

One idea I had is a rare new totem that grants the player a one-time keep inventory. Totems of undying are more or less ineffective when you fall into the void, but a totem of preservation would allow you to die and then respawn withing your gear to your respawn location. But I do think this item would need to be a loot item and impossible to farm or it would

just be super OP. Mojang could also bring back the beloved crab claw idea, which would have expanded a player's reach when held in the offhand if the crab had won the mob vote in 2023. But it doesn't have to be a literal crab claw move away from the wild speculation and get back to some more solid theories on what's actually coming. The next group of blocks that the Nether Update introduced were decorative blocks, including

variants to existing blocks, chains, and the soul lighting set. I think it would make a ton of sense for the end to also introduce its own lighting set, and let's be honest, it would probably be purple. A few of the end mobs from the Minecraft Dungeons Echoing Void DLC have some purple flames around them and they fit the end dimension vibe perfectly. It's also not that crazy that another colored light could be added, since we recently saw the addition of green torches and lanterns in the Copper Age drop. They could even give it a unique model to differentiate it. I also think the end update would most likely expand the end stone and

purple block families. And there's so many other decorative blocks like the chains that they could add, but one I've been itching for for years is wrought iron. Lots of resource packs changed the iron bars to look darker and more ornate, and I've always loved the way it looks. But the rest of the blocks that were added in the Nether update were mostly related to biomes. So now, let's get exploring.

The Nether update added four new biomes. the Soul Sand Valley, and the Basalt Deltas. The two forests have this fun opposite color scheme that brings a lot of life to the Nether, while the Soul Sand Valley and Basalt Deltas are much moodier, closer to that barren, hellish vibe that the original Nether Wastes biome had. I think it's a pretty good balance for the Nether, but just copying these directly into the N dimension

and changing the colors probably isn't gonna work. This is where I think Minecraft Dungeons dungeons provides an absolutely incredible amount of inspiration. I had never played the game before making this video, so I bought it and all the DLCs so that I could experience the revamped End Dimension first hand. What is that thing? Whoa, dude, I could not believe how cool the End Dimension in this game looks. It still feels creepy, hostile, and desolate, but there's so much more to see. There are these toxic pools of bubbling liquid that make you constantly feel like you need to watch your step.

The chorus forest features these awesome chorus trees which bend over backwards. And one of my favorite small details is the way the leaf particles actually fall upwards instead of down, making it feel even more alien. There's also a bunch of yellow grass, leaves, and plants, including this beautiful endglow shroom plant. These work amazing because purple and yellow are complementary colors, and the yellow color is muted enough that it doesn't feel too vibrant next to the rest of the end's desaturated palette. I decided to texture my own purple wood

set based on the chorus trees from dungeons, but I didn't want to purely copy their ideas, so I also designed a pale blue wood set which I call ghost wood. The most fun part of the process was trying to come up with unique door and trapdoor designs that are different from what we already have in the game. I think a chorus forest biome would be the most likely to be added in the end update, but I could certainly see a second forest biome working with either the yellow colors found in dungeons, or something more like the ghost wood that I came up with. But in my opinion, an end forest should have sparse trees like a savannah instead of the

thick growth you see in the nether. And the biomes also need to be vertically integrated like they are in the nether, so you can look up or down and see a totally different biome. But what about the non-forest biomes? Well, dungeons provides even more blocks that I think could form the foundation of additional biomes. Like these cool poison purple plants could be part of a whole poison biome. So now let's move on to the mobs that actually inhabit these biomes. The Nether update revamped the existing zombie pigmen into the zombified piglin. I don't really think Enderman or Shoulders need a revamp, which just leaves the dragon. Many players have

complaints about the dragon fight, and for the big bad end of the game boss fight, it does feel very anticlimactic and outdated. Just adding some special boss fight music and slightly improving the dragons AI could make a big difference. Imagine if you had to constantly dodge the purple fire we designed earlier. I also think that as great as the dragon perching is for speed running, it really ruins the vibes of the fight to just stand underneath wailing on us. So there should be some sort of challenging attack the player needs to dodge whenever the dragon perches. In terms of new mobs, 1.16 added Piglins who barter with the player for gold. I really like the idea of being able to trade in some way in all three dimensions, so maybe there could be some sort of wandering

Shulker, kinda like the wandering trader, or they could reuse the concept for the Rascal with a new look that would better fit the end. The original concept was that the Rascal would hide in underground areas and if found three times by theod, which acts as a sort of mini-boss for the Bastions. When it comes to adding a mini-boss to the end, once again, the work has already been done by Minecraft Dungeons. The game features three Enderlings, which are subspecies of Endermen. The Watchling, the Blastling, and the Snarling. Perfect addition to a new end structure. Another mob added to the Nether update was the Hoglin, which provides a great food source

for those trying to survive a Nether only challenge, but also adds a significant level of danger. I think the end could also use a mob that acts as a food source. So let me introduce the Ender Chicken. I was inspired by the design for the Watchling, as well as this bird, Sussy the Magpie, from the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters. I think it'd be so cool if this chicken had the ability to run up and peck you, causing you to teleport similarly to the way you do when you eat a chorus fruit.

This could be relatively harmless or super deadly depending on where you end up teleporting and how fast you react. The ender chicken would just drop normal chicken that the player could then cook and eat, but I do think it would be kind of cool if it laid a special type of egg, kind of like the warm and cold chickens do. This void egg would essentially function like a reverse ender pearl. Instead of the player throwing it and teleporting to where the pearl lands, the player could throw the egg and whatever entity it hits would be teleported to them.

Which brings me to the final mob the nether update added. The Strider. This peaceful little guy helps players cross the main hazard of the nether, the lava ocean. I think something similar should be added to the end dimension to help you cross the the void before getting an elytra, since having to just build bridges is insanely annoying. Perhaps instead of a strider, it's a glider. Many others have had similar ideas, whether it's a rideable jellyfish or some sort of ender whale. Having just one mob that feels a little bit more friendly to the player could really add a lot to the end dimension. But now we should talk about which

structures an end update might add. The Nether update added two structures. First, the bastion, which is a huge and complex structure with challenging mobs and rare unique loot to be found. And second, the ruined portal, which is a smaller structure with less valuable loot but big lore implications. I think the end dimension could also use two new structures. For a bigger, more challenging structure, I loved the concept of the end docks from

dungeons. But the broken citadel also sounds pretty cool, and would be a great parallel to the bastion. For a smaller structure, I think the illager campsites from Minecraft Dungeons would be really cool to see, but I don't really think it makes sense for illagers to be living there so maybe it's just more like abandoned.

It'd be cool if they had a loot chest with a map to the closest end ship, providing players a guaranteed way to find an elytra. That's pretty much everything I think the end update would add. There's a few other likely features, like a unique music disc, a new shulker or enderman themed banner pattern, and maybe a new armor trim template for one of the structures. But really, only time will tell how accurate my predictions end up being. The only issue we never really came back to is accessibility, and honestly, I think it's kind of a toss up whether Mojang will make any changes to the way that players reach

the N dimension. Even if it's got its issues, it's just such a classic and iconic part of the game at this point, almost like Creepers. So I'll leave that one to you guys. Do you think the entrance to the end needs to be adjusted somehow? In any case, all this theorizing has made me so excited to see what Mojang cooks up for an end update. So much so that I feel like even if I'm right about the summer 2027 release date,

I'm not sure I talked about into a real mod and make it free for all of you to download. I'll even play through the mod myself and make a whole video about it. Anyways guys, don't forget to check out the link in the description and the pinned comment to take advantage of HoltzCairn's Black Week sale. to take advantage of HoltzCairn's Black Week sale. And thanks for watching.