Minecraft players who were looking forward to the Caves & Cliffs update have received some bad news! The update has been delayed somewhat due to quality, technical issues, and some health issues with the team during the pandemic. But Mojang is not going to keep players waiting, and will be splitting the update into two parts, with the first one coming this summer.

The studio broke the news in a blog post, explaining that it is struggling to keep to schedule "due to the ambitious level of this update and the current state of the world." As such, the "Minecraft Caves & Cliffs" update will be delivered in two installments: the first will be released this summer, and the second will be released this holiday season. The developers have detailed how the split will work and what new elements will be added to the game with each delivery.

Among the changes detailed in the Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update, the summer patch will introduce new blocks and mobs. These include goats, axolotls, glow squid, lush cave blocks, and dripstone cave blocks. More details can be found in the Minecraft Caves & Cliffs Update FAQ. While most of the world generation updates are set for later this year, some are sneakily included in this patch, such as geodes and a copper update that will turn blocks green over time.

Part 2, which will roll out this holiday, will bring a huge amount of world generation changes, including new mountains, world heights, and biome placement. This half of the content is more technically challenging than aspects included in the first patch and will therefore take more time to finalize. Also, as the developer comments in the blog video, it makes sense to do them in one big update.

Not to mention that one of the features that will be delayed beyond the two-part update is archaeology. The new system will be given "the time it deserves" and postponed. The developer has not yet stated a release date.

Minecraft players can still try out the upcoming features in snapshots and beta versions. It is off by default, but can be turned on if you want to try it out. Instructions on how to use it are in the FAQ.