Nether Update

The Nether Update is a major update themed around revamping the Nether. It adds multiple new features to this dimension, such as new biomes and mobs. The update was announced at MINECON Live 2019 and was released on June 23, 2020, only for the of Minecraft. It was released as Java Edition 1.16 and Bedrock Edition 1.16.0. This update's development on Java Edition started with snapshot 20w06a, which was released on February 5, 2020. The first pre-release was released on June 4, 2020, followed by the second on June 5, the third on June 10, the fourth on June 11, the fifth on June 12, the sixth on June 15, the seventh on June 16, and the eighth on June 17. The only release candidate was released on June 18.

This update's development on Bedrock Edition started with beta 1.15.0.51, which was released on February 12, 2020. Bedrock Edition 1.15.0 was skipped to bring parity between Java and Bedrock release versions.

For, the full update was released on January 28, 2021.

Additionally, features from this update was released for Education Edition in 1.17.30 on November 2, 2021.

Notable features



 * New blocks:
 * Soul fire
 * Generates naturally in soul sand valleys, or by lighting soul soil or soul sand on fire. Burns infinitely on these blocks. Does twice the damage as normal fire. It glows in blue light. It scares and wards off any nearby piglins.
 * Soul torch
 * Crafted similarly to a torch, but with soul sand or soul soil block on the bottom. It glows with a light level of 10, in a blue appearance, and scares off nearby piglins.
 * Soul lantern
 * Crafted as a regular lantern would, but with a soul torch replacing the regular torch. Glows blue, and emits a light level of 10. It wards off nearby piglins.
 * Soul campfire
 * Crafted as a regular campfire, but with soul soil or soul sand replacing the coal. Emits a blue glow, with a light level of 10. Wards off nearby piglins.
 * Crimson and warped fungi
 * Generates naturally in their corresponding biomes, the crimson and warped forests, on crimson or warped nylium. When fertilized with bone meal, it grows into crimson or warped huge fungi, as long as it is planted on its corresponding nylium. Can be obtained infinitely from applying bone meal to nylium of either type.
 * Crimson and warped stems
 * Woodlike blocks that make up the stems of crimson and warped huge fungi. Can be crafted into corresponding plank, slab, stair, fence, fence gate, door, trapdoor, button, or pressure plate variants. Does not burn, and can be stripped with an axe.
 * Crimson and warped hyphae
 * Crafted with 4 crimson or warped stems. Resembles crimson or warped stems, but with the bark on all sides.
 * Crimson and warped planks
 * Four are crafted from a single crimson or warped stem.
 * Warped wart block
 * A variant of nether wart block that generates in warped forests and as part of huge warped fungi. It does not have a crafting recipe and can be obtained only from the previously said sources.
 * Shroomlight
 * Sometimes generates as part of huge fungi. Glows with a light level of 15.
 * Weeping vines
 * Generates in the ceiling of crimson forests and as part of huge crimson fungi. Applying bone meal makes it grow downward.
 * Twisting vines
 * Generates in warped forests. Can be obtained by applying bone meal to warped nylium, and can be grown upward.
 * Crimson and warped nylium
 * Makes up the "grass" of the crimson and warped forests. Can be spread onto adjacent netherrack by applying bone meal it.
 * Crimson and warped roots
 * Mostly generate in their corresponding forest biomes; however, crimson roots can also generate in soul sand valleys and rarely in warped forests. Generates on nylium or soul soil, and can be obtained by fertilizing nylium with bone meal.
 * Nether sprouts
 * Generates in warped forests. Can be fertilized with bone meal, and obtained from warped nylium. If broken without shears, it drops nothing.
 * Soul soil
 * Generates naturally in soul sand valleys. Is affected by the Soul Speed enchantment.
 * Basalt
 * Generates in large patches in basalt deltas, forming stacking structures, although it can also generate in basalt pillars in soul sand valleys. Can be infinitely generated by placing a lava source or flowing block next to blue ice, as long as it is also adjacent to soul soil. Can also be used to craft polished basalt.
 * Blackstone (and its variants)
 * Generates in both brick and raw form in bastion remnant structures. Can be polished through a stonecutter or by crafting 4 together. Polished variants can also be turned into button or pressure plates, or bricks. All variants have a corresponding slab, stair, and wall variants. Also generates in basalt deltas in large patches and in small patches in other Nether biomes.
 * Nether gold ore
 * Generates in all Nether biomes. Drops 2–4 gold nuggets upon mining, although this can be increased with Fortune. Mining with Silk Touch gives the block itself, which can be smelted into a gold ingot. Aggravates any nearby piglins if mined.
 * Crying obsidian
 * Can be obtained via bartering with piglins or from a ruined portal. Emits a light level of 10, and purple "teardrop" particles. Six crying obsidian and 3 glowstone create a respawn anchor.
 * Ancient debris
 * Rare ore block found in the Nether, that is most commonly found below lava level, at y = 15. Can be smelted into netherite scraps, and generates in blobs of 1–3, always unexposed to air. Does not burn up in fire or lava when dropped.
 * Block of netherite
 * Crafted using 9 netherite ingots. Can be used to activate a beacon. Does not burn up in fire or lava when dropped.
 * Target
 * A redstone block that is crafted with 1 hay bale and 4 redstone dust. When hit with any projectile, it emits a redstone signal for a short period, without the necessity of a comparator.
 * Respawn anchor
 * A block that can be used to set a spawn point in the Nether. For it to work, it must be charged using a maximum of four glowstone blocks, and a minimum of one. It explodes violently if used in the Overworld or the End.
 * Lodestone
 * Crafted with 1 netherite ingot and 8 chiseled stone bricks, or rarely found in bastion remnant loot chests. When a compass is used on it, the compass always points to the lodestone, unless it is in a different dimension as the lodestone (in which it swerves in random directions), the lodestone is broken, or it is used on a different lodestone.
 * Chain
 * Generates hanging lanterns in bastion remnants, or crafted from 2 iron nuggets and one iron ingot. Can be waterlogged, and can hang lanterns and various other blocks.
 * Nether bricks variants
 * Cracked and chiseled nether bricks, crafted similar to other cracked and chiseled blocks. The chiseled variant resembles a wither skeleton skull.
 * Quartz bricks
 * Crafted with 4 blocks of quartz in a 2×2 formation.
 * New items:
 * Netherite scrap
 * Smelted from ancient debris. Four netherite scraps and four gold ingots craft a netherite ingot. Does not burn up in fire or lava when dropped.
 * Netherite ingot
 * Can be used on diamond armor/tools in a smithing table interface to create netherite armor/tools, retaining the name, enchantments, and durability. Does not burn up in fire or lava when dropped.
 * Netherite armor
 * Significantly stronger and more durable than diamond armor, with a new statistic that affects knockback called Knockback Resistance. Does not burn up in fire or lava when dropped.
 * Netherite tools
 * More durable than diamond tools, does not burn up in fire or lava when dropped.
 * Warped fungus on a stick
 * Crafted with one fishing rod and one warped fungus. Attracts nearby striders, and when a strider is ridden, it leads it in the direction the warped fungus on a stick is held. When riding the strider, using the warped fungus on a stick with the use key boosts the strider's movement speed for a significant amount of time, but also removes some durability.
 * Pigstep music disc
 * Can be found only in bastion remnant loot chests. When played in a jukebox, it plays the song Pigstep by Lena Raine.
 * Lodestone compass
 * Created when a compass is used on a lodestone. Always points to the lodestone.
 * Snout banner pattern
 * A rare banner pattern found as loot in bastion remnant loot chests. When placed onto a banner, it resembles a piglin's snout.
 * New mobs:
 * Piglin
 * Spawns commonly in crimson forests, uncommonly in nether wastes, and in bastion remnants. Attacks the player unless it is wearing at least one piece of gold armor. Attacks wither skeletons and the Wither on sight, while occasionally attacking hoglins for food. Are attracted by gold-related items, except for some. If the gold-related item is an armor piece or sword, they equip it. Piglins are afraid of soul light-related blocks. Can be bartered by giving them a gold ingot, which causes them to throw a random item in their bartering loot table in return.
 * Strider
 * Spawns in lava oceans in the Nether. Can be bred with warped fungus, which creates a baby strider. Can be ridden by using a saddle on it, but can be controlled only with a warped fungus on a stick, similar to pigs in the Overworld.
 * Zoglin
 * A mob that spawns only if a hoglin stays in the Overworld or End for 30 seconds. Is aggressive toward all mobs except for creepers and other zoglins.
 * Hoglin
 * A hostile mob that spawns in crimson forests and in hoglin stables in bastion remnants. Is afraid of warped fungus and can be bred using crimson fungus. Babies also attempt to attack, but when attacked back, they run away immediately.
 * Piglin brute
 * A dangerous hostile mob that spawns in bastion remnants. Attacks the player regardless if it's wearing gold armor or not and is not attracted by gold-related items, neither can be bartered. They also attack wither skeletons and the Wither on sight, just like regular piglins. Their attack damage is quite large, capable of killing an unarmored player in a few hits.
 * New generated structures:
 * Bastion remnants
 * A rare structure that generates out of four different types, and can generate in any biome except for basalt deltas. Made entirely of blackstone and basalt, it spawns piglins, piglin brutes, and, if is the hoglin stables variant, hoglins. Contains loot chests and gold-related blocks that aggravate any nearby piglin if mined or opened.
 * Basalt pillars
 * Spawns in soul sand valleys, made entirely of basalt.
 * Huge fungi
 * Large tree-like structures that generate in crimson and warped forests. Their structure is made of stems, wart blocks, shroomlights, and if it's a huge crimson fungus, weeping vines.
 * Ruined portals
 * A new generated structure that comes in many different sizes, always containing 1 loot chest. They can spawn in any Nether or Overworld biome, even underground, in water, or in lava lakes. Occasionally contains a block of gold, and is made of stone bricks if generated in the Overworld, and blackstone bricks if in the Nether.
 * Nether fossils
 * Large structures made of bone blocks that generate in soul sand valleys. They are the Nether equivalent to overworld fossils.
 * New biomes:
 * Soul sand valley
 * A dangerous landscape made entirely out of soul soil and soul sand, with occasional basalt pillars and nether fossils. Skeletons and ghasts spawn commonly in soul sand valleys, while endermen are less common. Soul fire is also generated.
 * Crimson forest
 * A biome floored with crimson nylium, containing crimson fungi, huge crimson fungi, crimson roots, and the occasionally warped fungi. Weeping vines occasionally generate on the roof in this biome. Hoglins, piglins, and zombified piglins spawn in this biome, with the last one being less common.
 * Warped forest
 * A biome containing similar traits to the crimson forest, with warped fungi, huge warped fungi, warped roots, nether sprouts, and the occasional crimson fungi and roots as part of the vegetation. Twisted vines generate in large quantities in this biome. Endermen spawn frequently here.
 * Basalt deltas
 * A hard-to-surpass biome made of stalk-like basalt pillars and patches of blackstone. Lava pools ringed with magma blocks appear in this biome frequently. Magma cubes frequently spawn here, alongside ghasts.
 * New enchantment:
 * Soul Speed: allows players to walk quickly on soul sand.
 * New soundtrack:
 * Minecraft: Nether Update (Original Game Soundtrack) by Lena Raine.

Java Edition

 * 1.16.1 was released to fix stability issues with Realms.
 * 1.16.2 added piglin brutes and experimental support for custom biomes.
 * 1.16.3 was released to fix a critical duplication exploit.
 * 1.16.4 added social interactions screen feature.
 * 1.16.5 was released to fix two issues related to server crashes.

Bedrock Edition

 * 1.16.1 was released to fix some critical bugs and crashes.
 * 1.16.1.03 was released exclusively on PS4 to fix an issue where the game would get stuck on the loading screen and potentially crash.
 * 1.16.1.04 was released exclusively on PS4 to improve stability in the game.
 * 1.16.10 was released to add a warning for deprecated devices and fixes a bug for mobile devices.
 * 1.16.20 added piglin brutes, as well as changes to sounds, block behaviors, technical changes, and bug fixes.
 * 1.16.21 was released exclusively on Nintendo Switch to fix a stability issue relating to the home screen while signed in.
 * 1.16.40 was released to fix account linking issues and crashes.
 * 1.16.42 added support for PlayStation VR on PS4.
 * 1.16.50 was released exclusively on iOS to improve stability and fix crashes.
 * 1.16.60 was released exclusively on PS4 to improve stability and reduce crashes.
 * 1.16.61 was released exclusively on PS4 to fix critical bugs and crashes.
 * 1.16.100 added new commands, expanded and improved the add-on and script engine mechanics, changes to certain block mechanics/gameplay, more parity from Java Edition, realms, and featured server support for PlayStation 4, revamps the achievement/trophy UI, and fixes bugs.
 * 1.16.101 was released to fix an issue for mobile devices.
 * 1.16.200 implemented RenderDragon to Windows 10 and added new audio settings, ray-tracing features, changes to death messages, and fixes bugs.
 * 1.16.201 was released to fix some critical bugs and crashes.
 * 1.16.210 added more new ambient sounds to the Nether, and fixes bugs.
 * 1.16.220 added the ability to change signs' text's color with dyes, and fixes bugs and crashes.
 * 1.16.221 was released to fix some critical bugs and crashes.

Trailer
A trailer for the update was released on June 23, 2020.

Showcases
Videos made by slicedlime:

Soundtrack
Videos uploaded to Lena Raine – Topic by Ingrooves Plays exclusively in the Crimson Forest biome.'Plays exclusively in the Nether Wastes biome.'Plays in both the Basalt Deltas and Soul Sand Valley biomes.The thirteenth music disc added to Minecraft. The original mix of Pigstep before converted to mono.

Trivia

 * Similarly to the announcement of the Update Aquatic, this update was announced during the development of the previous release, and before the features of that version were included in a full release.
 * Version numbers are the same for both, starting with this update.
 * The Nether was originally going to be the theme of 1.13, but it was later changed to be the version for the Update Aquatic.
 * The Allay was originally planned for this update, but is instead being added in The Wild Update after having won the mob vote in Minecraft Live 2021.

MINECON Live 2019
Screenshots of the Nether Update from MINECON Live 2019: