Java Edition 1.16.4

Don't be scared. The things out there that are unknown aren't scary in themselves. They are just unknown at the moment. Take the time to know them before you list them as scary. Then the world will be a much less scary place for you.

General

 * Chat
 * Added an option to hide matched names.
 * Some servers send chat messages in non-standard formats. With this option on, the game will attempt to apply chat hiding anyway by matching the text in messages.


 * Social Interactions screen
 * Gives players the ability to disable chatting with certain players, thus hiding any messages received from them.
 * Opens with a configurable key binding, by default.
 * Whether a player is hidden resets when re-joining a server.
 * The status of a player is listed below their name.

Items

 * Netherite leggings
 * Changed the texture of the worn netherite leggings model.

General

 * Accounts
 * When logging in with a Microsoft account, players blocked in that account are now also blocked in the game, and account restrictions are now respected.


 * Accessibility
 * A button to open a link to the Accessibility Guide can now be found in the Accessibility Options screen.


 * Crashes
 * More information is now added to the crash log in cases where poor performance causes the server to crash.


 * Options
 * Added "joinedFirstServer" option to options.txt.


 * Protocol versions
 * New network protocol scheme, with a high bit (bit 30) set for snapshots. The protocol version will increase by 1 for each snapshot, but full releases may keep the same protocol version as the previous full release in cases where the network protocols are compatible.


 * Multiplayer
 * When the server and client version are incompatible, a message reading "Incompatible version!" in red will be displayed, instead of "Client out of date!" or "Server out of date!" in dark red.
 * When multiplayer is disabled, the message displayed will now read, "Multiplayer is disabled. Please check your Microsoft account settings." instead of "Multiplayer is disabled. Please check your launcher settings."


 * Splashes
 * The splashes relating to the Black Lives Matter movement have been added to splashes.txt. These splashes were added to the game via a launcher update during 1.16.2 but were not in splashes.txt. The splashes are:
 * Black lives matter!
 * Be anti-racist!
 * Learn about allyship!
 * Speak OUT against injustice and UP for equality!
 * Amplify and listen to BIPOC voices!
 * Educate your friends on anti-racism!
 * Support the BIPOC community and creators!
 * Stand up for equality in your community!

Video
Video by slicedlime:

Trivia

 * This was the last full version to be released in 2020.
 * Originally, this version was going to be released on October 29, 2020, but it got postponed by 4 days.

Note

 * Minecraft 1.16.4 and Minecraft 1.16.5 are network compatible, that is, 1.16.4 servers can have players from 1.16.5.