Java Edition unused features

Since the beginning of Minecraft's development, there have been a number of features that were proposed by Notch or other Mojang AB developers that were ultimately unimplemented.

Note that this page only documents features that were planned at one time but have since been cancelled or fallen into limbo; features that are currently definitively planned for inclusion instead should be listed on Upcoming features.

Partially implemented/Unused
Several planned features made it as far as being partially implemented (e.g. by having images created and added to the sprite sheets, or behavior code added to the game), or even fully functioning in-game, before being dropped.

Lanterns
Lanterns were originally planned to be used as permanent light sources (and torches to be made temporary), but Lanterns were officially denied by Notch at MineCon 2011. Instead, other types of lighting would be added; such as Redstone Lamps and glowstone.

Skis


This texture, known in the game files as "skis.png", was added in the Christmas/New Year update. It is currently unused, although this item could be released in 1.5. Skis are thought to make walking on snow or ice faster.

Crying Obsidian
Crying Obsidian was a planned feature for Minecraft for setting a new spawn point. This has been replaced with Beds, as sleeping in one will set your spawn point beside it.

Fish
Originally, fish were planned to be implemented in the Halloween Update, but, since Notch had limited time, he was only able to add fish as an item. Jon Kagstrom has stated he would like to add fish.

Gears
Gears were supposed to be added in Indev but never were, though (when hacked into the inventory) they did nothing when placed on a block, however, there would be an "invisible" block that would be able to be stood upon. They were effectively removed from the game when Redstone Dust took its data value and its sprite was removed from the game.

Leather-chain armor
Leather-chain armor existed as a series of sprites in the items.png file, between leather and chainmail armor, and in place of gold/diamond armor.

Pigmen
Pigmen are Mobs with the same shape as the player but the skin of a Pig. Notch mentioned that he might add them as Villagers in NPC Villages (which didn't happen, in place of the Villager), but it is possible that they may be added in the future.

Rubies


On May 21, 2012, Jeb released a screenshot of himself testing the trading system. At this time, what would become Emerald Ore was Ruby ore. The previous Ruby texture remains in the items.png file, above the Emerald texture. It is unknown if it will ever be implemented afterwards.(In 1.3 Emeralds were added to Minecraft)

The Sky Dimension
The Sky Dimension or Skylands was a planned dimension, intended to be added in Beta 1.8 or Minecraft 1.0. It could be accessed using hacks but portals to the Sky Dimension were never implemented, but the idea was ultimately scrapped and its code was reused to make the End. When in the end, the debug info displays the word "Sky" as the current biome name.

Unused Potions
The unused potions can be seen in the inventory GUI in the files but some effects are not present but in the snapshot 12w39a the custom potions feature was introduced and are the only way to access the unused potion effects. The unused potions are the:


 * Water Breathing
 * Nausea (shakes the screen)
 * Mining Fatigue (slows down mining speed)

A more detailed list can be found at Potions.

Dropped/in limbo
These features were planned at one point but later abandoned or their current status is unknown.

Coral
Notch attempted to implement coral, "but it’s really hard to draw a single block that looks like corals, since it’s really more about crazy amounts of variation and diversity. But I do know that the corals will have tiny fish particles around them."

Breathing
In the resources/newsound/random a file called "breath.ogg" it can be heard here

Chairs and other furniture
In Indev's terrain.png were two textures which might be interpreted as a chair (side and front). The actual purpose of those textures is unknown. On Word of Notch, furniture, and more specifically chairs, is mentioned a few times.

Spike Blocks
Spike Blocks were originally planned for, working by extending and retracting spikes (and making them more "spike pistons" than anything), but were replaced by Sticky Pistons. On May 28, 2012, Dinnerbone stated that he'd like to add spike blocks, but is unsure of how to implement them.

Whales
Whales were mobs mentioned by Notch in a version of Alpha as a water mob, until the addition of Squid.

Branch Block and cutting the trunk felling trees
Notch mentioned both of these in a blog post during Infdev. The addition of sideways logs seems to be an alternative for branches.

Capture the Flag
Capture the flag has been mentioned a lot by Notch and is currently unimplemented, but it was also stated at Minecon that it will come on the Xbox before the PC or Pocket edition. Dinnerbone said on reddit he might add flags so Capture the Flag might be in a near update.

Purple arrows
Purple arrows were shot by Skeletons in Survival Test and acted the same as regular Arrows, but the texture is not currently in use.

Quivers
Although the sprite for a Quiver has been in the game since Indev, almost nothing is known about it (although, presumably, it would be used to hold arrows). Jeb has stated that he is not going to add Quivers.

Dirt slabs
Before stone slabs were officially added to the game, Notch did a test with dirt slabs, although they were never officially added.

Mentioned
These features were mentioned, but nothing was ever done with them.


 * Sunlight/light sensors. (Daylight Detectors were mentioned by Jeb at Minecon 2012 for the upcoming "Redstone Update")
 * Animated swinging doors.

Joke features
Notch and other Mojang AB employees have frequently joked about adding various features to the game.


 * Hot dogs.
 * Herobrine.
 * The Locked Chest or "Steve Co Supply Crate" was temporarily added as an April fools joke.
 * When Hardcore mode was announced, a joke screenshot of "Ultra Hardcore Mode" was shown, where death would revoke an account's premium status.
 * Jeb joked about adding chips if 100% of the community agreed on what type the chips would be.
 * Marc joked about adding Top Hats for 1.4.
 * A snapshot named 12marc40awesome containing various joke features such as volcanoes, (more) dragons, coral, fish, and fish blocks.
 * Pine cones.
 * Dinnerbone joked about adding dwarves when asked about it.