Java Edition 1.9

, known as The Combat Update, is an upcoming update to Minecraft with no set release date.

Planned additions

 * Animations / Entity Models
 * Might possibly include model changes within the NBT data.
 * Would be implemented via resource packs.
 * Will make better use of code so that map/mod makers can create better/new mobs.
 * Same as the block data changes in 1.8.
 * Feature may not be 100% complete.
 * Blocks
 * New block type.
 * New unknown dark colored block.
 * Cannot be obtained and does not naturally generate.
 * Has a visual effect on the world.
 * Grass Path
 * A 15/16 block tall grass-like “path”. It features a somewhat similar texture to the grass block.
 * Captions / Subtitles
 * Subtitles which display for each sound for the hard of hearing/deaf.
 * An example would be “Creeper hissing”.
 * Would have to point in the direction this sound is coming from.
 * Gameplay
 * Added a left hand.
 * Option to play with the left hand as the main hand.
 * The main hand acts as the right hand did previously, while the other hand may equip an item through a new off-hand slot.
 * Shown by a shield outline in the inventory.
 * While weapons can be equipped in both hands, a weapon may only be used while equipped to the main hand.
 * The other hand is only visible to the player when something is equipped there.
 * Generated structures
 * A new type of dungeon with new blocks and mobs.
 * Related to the “new dark colored block”
 * Added support to rotate and mirror structures.
 * Items
 * Quivers
 * Can hold arrows.
 * Texture was originally made by Notch for his abandoned project Legend of the Chambered, and was added in Indev in 2009, albeit only as an unused texture.
 * At least 4 new arrow types.
 * One such arrow is the Spectral Arrow.
 * Shields
 * Shown by a black shield outline in the picture.
 * Will be used for blocking instead of a sword.

Planned changes

 * Bosses
 * Proper support for multiple bosses’ health bars, so they show at the same time without obstructing each other.
 * Ender dragon boss fight
 * A redo of the ender dragon’s boss fight, making it similar to the fight in Console Edition.
 * Some obsidian pillars will have iron bars surrounding the ender crystal.
 * The ender dragon now breathes purple particles.
 * The dragon will be able to respawn without resetting the End if it has already been killed.
 * Clouds
 * New cloud rendering system.
 * Command Blocks
 * Will have a new GUI
 * Will contain tab to complete.
 * Death messages
 * Death messages will now be displayed on the death screen instead of just in the chat.
 * Strongholds
 * Doors in strongholds are no longer mis-placed.
 * Inventory
 * Rearranged the survival inventory and the creative "survival tab" to accommodate the new quiver and shield slots.
 * Shaders
 * Switch away from using fixed-function OpenGL to using Shaders.
 * Swords
 * Can no longer be used for blocking.

Trivia

 * This has been the longest span of time between the release of a major update to Minecraft and a snapshot for the next major update, with 3616 days days now having elapsed since the release of 1.8 on September 2, 2014.
 * Until this point, the longest waits had been those between 1.7.2 and 14w02a (76 days), between 1.4.2 and 13w01a (70 days), and between 1.6.1 and 13w36a (66 days).