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Minecraft's big Caves & Cliffs update is getting split in two. Here's the new release timeline

The game developers need more time to fully complete the ambitious update.

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Minecraft's much-anticipated Caves & Cliffs update is getting split into two parts, game studio Mojang said in a Wednesday blog post. The first part of the update is scheduled to arrive this summer, and the second part is planned for a holiday season release, the post said. 

"Due to the ambition level of this update and the current state of the world, we've found it difficult to deliver on this promise while sticking to our original timeline," the post said. "Since giving you the best update possible is our priority, we have decided to split Caves & Cliffs into two parts."

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The first part of the Caves & Cliffs update, initially announced at Minecraft Live last year, will include new mobs, items and blocks, such as Goat, Axolotl, Crystals + Spyglass + Geodes + Tinted Glass, Copper + Lightning Rod, Glow Squid + Glow Ink, Powder Snow, Lush Cave Blocks, Dripstone Cave Blocks, Deepslate + Ore Variants, Glow Lichen and Multiplayer Sleeping Rule (Java only). 

More details about timing and what'll be included in each update will be announced in the coming weeks, according to a Minecraft Help Center FAQ. 

Minecraft play spiked during the pandemic, with more than 200 million copies sold and more than 126 million people playing the world-building game each month as of May.

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