Java Edition 1.16

1.16, the first release of the Nether Update, is an upcoming major update to Java Edition, which will overhaul the Nether. This update was announced at MINECON Live 2019.

Blocks

 * Blue fire
 * Acts the same as regular fire.
 * Fire lit on soul sand blocks will be blue fire regardless of dimension.
 * Generates naturally in the soulsand valley biome in the Nether.


 * Nether fungi
 * Slightly resemble fire coral fans.
 * Generates in the Netherwart Forest biome.


 * Target Block
 * Resembles hay bale's side texture.
 * Emits a redstone signal when shot with an arrow.
 * Signal is stronger depending on how close the arrow is to the center of the block.


 * Unnamed mushrooms
 * At least two new types of mushroom will be added to the Netherwart forests.
 * One is teal with orange spots and the other is pinkish-red in a brain-like pattern.


 * Unnamed blue nether wart block
 * A variation of the nether wart block.
 * Generates in the Blue Netherwart Forest.


 * Unnamed nether wart stems
 * Veiny looking blocks that comprise trunks in the netherwart forest, with one variant with blue vines and another with red vines.


 * Unnamed nether grass
 * Resembles grass blocks
 * Grows on top of netherrack
 * Comes in red and blue


 * Unnamed soul sand block
 * In clips of the Soulsand Valley, blocks with a similar color scheme to soul sand can be seen, alongside conventional soul sand.
 * These blocks can be seen with blue fire atop them, confirming their relationship to conventional soul sand.


 * Unnamed light block
 * A light-emitting block which closely resembles glowstone can also be seen.
 * Generates in nether trees and randomly along the Nether's terrain.
 * Appears to correspond to the spots seen on new mushrooms, due to how it appears in the netherwart forest.


 * Unnamed speleothem block
 * This unidentifiable block makes up speleothems.
 * Appears to be two variants.
 * One generates the majority of the speleothems, the other generates at the top and bottom of the speleothem.

Mobs

 * Piglins
 * Found in the Nether.
 * Are naturally hostile towards the player, unless the player is wearing gold armor.
 * Even if the player wears gold armor, piglins will become aggravated towards the player if they open a chest containing any item crafted with or related to gold near the piglin.
 * Can spawn wielding gold swords or crossbows.
 * Will be able to barter with the player.
 * Will attack wither skeletons and the new piglin beast.


 * Piglin beasts
 * Found in the Nether.
 * Are naturally hostile towards the player.
 * Appear to have a higher melee range than most mobs.
 * Can be bred and used as a source of food in the Nether.
 * Appear to drop raw beef, though this is likely a placeholder.
 * Name is not yet finalized and will be decided on by the community.

World generation

 * Biomes
 * The Nether will get at least three new biomes:
 * The Soulsand Valley includes uncovered fossils, soul sands, large speleothems, blue fog, and blue fire.
 * The Netherwart Forest Red is a dense forest with trees made of nether wart blocks, with nether fungi found on the ground.
 * The Netherwart Forest Blue is a variation of the red netherwart forest.


 * Generated structures
 * Bastions
 * Fortifications built by piglins that are found in the Nether.

Mobs

 * Zombie pigmen
 * Will be renamed to zombified piglins.

Gameplay

 * Respawning
 * Players will be able to respawn in the Nether.
 * How is currently unknown.

Unconfirmed features
These features were mentioned during the development of 1.14, 1.16 or during MINECON Live 2019, but have not been confirmed to be added in this update.


 * Smithing Table and Fletching Table
 * May get functionality, it was mentioned during the development of Village & Pillage, the theme prior to the Nether Update, that it would be added in "...the next major themed update..."


 * Illusioners
 * May be added to raids.


 * Pigs
 * The feature of pigs transforming to zombie pigmen when struck by lightning may be removed.