Java Edition upcoming features

This page is about features that have been announced by official Mojang employees.

Game content
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 100%" ! width="15%" | Feature ! width="85%" | Description and therefore wants to add more content to it. Notch also hinted to this on twitter.
 * Animal Persistence
 * Jeb mentioned on twitter that all animals will be more persistent "soon"
 * Wool Regrowth on Sheep
 * Jeb mentioned on twitter that once animals are persistant, wool regrowth on sheep will be necessary
 * Capture the Flag
 * Announced on Notch's Blog.
 * More Mobs
 * More mobs have been confirmed for addition into Minecraft.
 * Bow Enhancements
 * Announced on Notch's Twitter.
 * Improvements to Combat
 * Notch replied to a comment on Twitter, saying that combat is currently very "lacking" and needs to be more fun. Jeb stated during his Dreamhack presentation, that critical hits will be added, and such things as doing double damage when attacking from above.
 * Modding API
 * Official modding support. Agreed on by Notch at Get Satisfaction, This will include full source code, be free and unobfuscated.
 * Mounting/Controlling Mobs
 * The ability to mount and control mobs. Notch confirmed it was planned but will take time at Get Satisfaction.
 * Recent SMP Server Connections Menu
 * A menu to be implemented to allow players to see what servers they have connected to recently, so they may reconnect. Notch said "WILCO" meaning "will comply" on Get Satisfaction.
 * Rain Re-grows Flowers
 * A community member asked if rain would grow flowers back. Jeb said that yes it will and he wants to implement it.
 * Minecarts as lava boats
 * Notch has suggested making minecarts act like boats when placed in lava.
 * An In-Game Way to Acquire Apples
 * Jeb mentioned on twitter that he'd like apples to spawn in the game world somehow.
 * Use for Books
 * Notch has hinted that with the use of location in Maps he might be able to enable writing in Books in the future.
 * Custom Paintings
 * Notch has said that Custom Paintings may feature in a future update.
 * Stereoscopic and/or Green/Magenta 3D
 * Notch said he would add more options for the 3D mode.
 * More Powerful Powered Minecarts
 * Notch indicated on Twitter that he wants to make Powered Minecarts better since Powered Rails made them relatively useless.
 * Audio Loops
 * Audio loops have not yet been added to the game, but may be played when the player is in a specific location (In caves, woods, sea and beside a waterfall).
 * Sky / Floating Island Dimension
 * A floating island dimension in the sky that currently "performs well, [but] looks ugly" (The sky dimension's terrain renderer will be improved). However, he said he had to fix the Nether first. Confirmed to be in a future update.
 * Friends list
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Multithreading
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Limited maps
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Creative mode
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Video Support
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Special biomes
 * Jeb stated during his Dreamhack presentation that they were planning on adding more reasons for going to specific biomes.
 * Stronger tools
 * Jeb stated during his dreamhack presentation that he was working on something stronger than diamond tools. He did however say that this was not a new set of tools, but rather something that could be used to enhance your tools to make them stronger.
 * More content for The Nether
 * During his dreamhack presentations, Jeb stated that Notch thinks The Nether "isn't interesting enough",
 * Sky / Floating Island Dimension
 * A floating island dimension in the sky that currently "performs well, [but] looks ugly" (The sky dimension's terrain renderer will be improved). However, he said he had to fix the Nether first. Confirmed to be in a future update.
 * Friends list
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Multithreading
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Limited maps
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Creative mode
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Video Support
 * The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, also containing this line.
 * Special biomes
 * Jeb stated during his Dreamhack presentation that they were planning on adding more reasons for going to specific biomes.
 * Stronger tools
 * Jeb stated during his dreamhack presentation that he was working on something stronger than diamond tools. He did however say that this was not a new set of tools, but rather something that could be used to enhance your tools to make them stronger.
 * More content for The Nether
 * During his dreamhack presentations, Jeb stated that Notch thinks The Nether "isn't interesting enough",
 * Special biomes
 * Jeb stated during his Dreamhack presentation that they were planning on adding more reasons for going to specific biomes.
 * Stronger tools
 * Jeb stated during his dreamhack presentation that he was working on something stronger than diamond tools. He did however say that this was not a new set of tools, but rather something that could be used to enhance your tools to make them stronger.
 * More content for The Nether
 * During his dreamhack presentations, Jeb stated that Notch thinks The Nether "isn't interesting enough",
 * More content for The Nether
 * During his dreamhack presentations, Jeb stated that Notch thinks The Nether "isn't interesting enough",
 * Flying
 * The ability to fly.(Confirmed)
 * NPC Villages
 * Notch said in a Tumblr post that NPC Villages will be in a future update.
 * Official Support for High Resolution Texture Packs
 * Described by Jeb as "on my todo list".
 * FOV Slider
 * FOV (or Field Of Vision) will be able to be adjusted using a slider in the options screen.
 * -}
 * FOV Slider
 * FOV (or Field Of Vision) will be able to be adjusted using a slider in the options screen.
 * -}
 * -}

New platforms/releases

 * On the 28th of March, it was announced that work has started on the mobile version of Minecraft. It will be released first on to the Sony Xperia Play, and later to other Android/iOS devices.
 * Minecraft mobile was demoed at E3. On the 25th of May 2011 a demonstration video was uploaded on Mojang's YouTube channel
 * The full version of Minecraft is planned to be released on the 11th (maybe 18th) of November, which is in days.
 * On June 6, it was announced that Minecraft is going to be released on the Xbox 360