Java Edition mentioned features

Since the beginning of Minecraft's development, there have been a number of features that were mentioned by developers at Mojang Studios. These features are either currently planned and have not yet appeared in a development version or have simply been dropped entirely.

Note that this page only documents features that were mentioned, but are not yet in the game. Features in development versions are described on the parent version page.

Planned
These features are planned to come to Minecraft sometime in the future.

Combat changes
A new combat system is currently in development, containing changes such as the player only being able to attack when their weapon is fully drawn.

Voted updates
The desert and savanna biome reworks are the two remaining biome reworks from the MINECON Earth 2018 biome chooser vote. Although no date has been given, both are promised to be updated in a future update:

The badlands biome rework is the last remaining biome rework from the MINECON Live 2019 biome vote, as the winning mountains rework was implemented in Java Edition 1.18, and the swamp rework was part of Java Edition 1.19. The badlands are promised to be updated in an unspecified future update:
 * Deserts will be given palm trees, oases, and meerkats.
 * Savannas will be given baobab trees, termites, and ostriches.


 * Badlands will be given vultures, tumbleweed, and a new cactus based on the Prickly Pear.

Other live votes did not promise that the losing options would be planned; for information on those features, see the "Mentioned" section.

Super Fancy graphics
Docm77 confirmed in a tweet that sometime in the future, a new graphics setting will be added to Minecraft called "super fancy". It is unknown whether it is the "Fabulous!" graphics setting added in 1.16 Pre-release 1 or another new one. The use of OpenGL 3.2 for rendering in 1.17 may lead toward the Super Fancy graphics. This could also be a reference to the Ray Tracing functionality in Minecraft Bedrock Edition or the scrapped Super Duper Graphics Pack.

Phasing out of NBT-based crafting recipes
In Java Edition 1.14, numerous new blocks were implemented as replacements for certain "complex" crafting recipes, with the replaced crafting recipes relying on NBT data. This included moving inventory tool repair to the grindstone, banner modification to the loom, and map modification to the cartography table. However, several more NBT based crafting recipes still exist, and these are planned to be phased out. Certain blocks that may be added in the future to further this goal include a dedicated fireworks customization block.

In Java Edition 1.14.3, tool repair crafting recipes were reimplemented.

Full split of liquids from blocks
Java Edition 1.13 added waterlogging, marking the start of the separation between liquids and blocks. An in-development screenshot showing water occupying leaves and flowers, referred to as having "no water blocks", was released in 2018. However, water and lava still currently exist as blocks, and so far only water sources can occupy other blocks through the waterlogged block state; flowing water and bubble columns cannot occupy other blocks, and both still and flowing lava cannot occupy other blocks at all.

Having water only occupy one side of a block like a glass pane, but not the other, is also something that has been considered.

Shaders
On the feedback site, shaders (resource packs that override the vanilla shaders) were marked as announced, meaning that they were going to be implemented. This feature was partially implemented in 1.16 and 1.17, as resource packs can enable similar effects.

Farming nerf
Somewhere in 1.16, developers stated that certain changes would be made to functionality exploited in several farms. In particular:
 * Fortress mobs can spawn anywhere inside of the boundary of a nether fortress rather than only at the roads.
 * Angry zombified piglins drop experience even when not killed by the player directly.

The sculk mechanics introduced in 1.19 may be intended as a replacement.

Delayed or scrapped
These features were initially promised to be implemented in a specific update, but were later postponed and have not currently been made part of another update.

Fletching table functionality
Fletching tables are set to gain functionality in a later update, similar to what happened with Smithing tables (originally added as a generic villager job site block and then received player functionality in a future update). Originally, this was planned for "the next major themed update". Later, it was stated that functionality wasn't a guarantee for 1.16. Later, it was confirmed that Fletching tables wouldn’t be gaining functionality in 1.16. To this day, they still have no functionality beyond serving as the workplace block for fletcher villagers.

Bundle
Originally announced for the Caves & Cliffs update, development of this item was delayed for a future version. Bundles are a storage item that can be used for managing items inside the player's inventory, and allow for combination of multiple item types within single inventory slots. As of 1.20, they are still obtainable by accessing toggles.

Firefly
Fireflies were originally going to be eaten by frogs to produce froglights, but this was scrapped due to the fact that some species of fireflies are poisonous to some species of frogs in real life. They would have glowed in the dark and been two pixels in size, which would have made them the smallest mob in the game. It was officially confirmed that they were scrapped for the 1.19 update in an Ask Mojang episode.

Updates to birch forests and other biomes
In Minecraft Live 2021, it was stated that The Wild Update would focus on biome diversity and immersion, giving a unique identity and atmosphere to different biomes. The birch forest was used as an example to demonstrate this new atmosphere, and concept art pieces depicting an improved birch forest with new flowers, shelf fungi, tree branches and fallen logs were shown. Later it was stated that "concept art is not a commitment" and that this part of the update was now "not something we have continued working with" in an Ask Mojang episode.

Partially implemented
These features had been shown by a Mojang staff member, but had no further development or were canceled shortly after.

Blaze3D


A new Java Edition rendering pipeline called Blaze3D has been confirmed many times by Searge. There are also many references to this system in the game files, although it has not yet been fully implemented.

Colored Wood Planks


Dinnerbone briefly thought about implementing colored wood planks, releasing a test image on his Twitter page. This however never got implemented, as can be seen from the following quotes. The idea was eventually replaced with colored Terracotta.

Later updates have since then introduced new wood sets resembling some of the dyed plank colors, with The Update that Changed the World adding orange and brown planks in the form of acacia and dark oak wood, the Nether Update adding purple and cyan planks in the form of crimson and warped wood, The Wild Update adding red planks in the form of mangrove wood, and Trails & Tales adding yellow and pink planks in the form of bamboo and cherry wood.

Sculk Jaw
It was seen at Minecraft Live 2020 as part of the Deep Dark announcement. Walking on it would change its texture, and it is presumed that it would do damage to the player and that it could be broken with the Hoe like with other Sculk Blocks.

It was presumed to be added in The Wild Update, but kingbdogz revealed that it was unlikely to be added in the final release. In the end it was not added.

Dirt slab
Before stone slabs were added to 0.26, Notch ran a test of dirt slabs.

In the original Caves & Cliffs announcement, an item called the brush was showcased, which appeared to be able to lower the height of certain blocks. However, it has been confirmed that this was only a special breaking animation, and couldn't be used to physically make slabs. The showcased animation has since been changed, and it now only applies to suspicious blocks.

Sky Dimension


The Sky Dimension was a planned dimension, intended to be the opposite of the Nether. It could be accessed using third-party programs, but portals to the Sky Dimension were never implemented. The idea was ultimately scrapped    and its code was reused to make the End, which can be seen in versions prior to 14w17a as the End's technical biome was still referred to in the debug menu as "Sky".

Unlike the Sky Dimension, the End has a dark purple sky, no clouds, and the floating islands are made entirely of end stone.

With the addition of the Buffet functionality in Java Edition 1.13 snapshot 18w15a, this can be distantly recreated by using the "Floating Islands" option. The addition of custom world generation in Java Edition 1.16.2 snapshot 20w28a also included a noise preset offering similar functionality.

Mentioned
These features were mentioned at one point, but later abandoned or their current status is unknown. Note that some of these features were mentioned by developers who either no longer work at Mojang Studios, or no longer work on Minecraft.

Mobs
There have been several cases of mobs being mentioned by developers as potential candidates for being added to the game.

Red Dragon
Notch revealed during the 8th Seecret Friday Update that he was planning to add dragons. Later, he mentioned dragons again during MINECON 2010.

On October 12th, 2011, he announced on Twitter that after the addition of the Ender Dragon, he was planning to add "slightly less dangerous" red dragons, which would be able to land and wouldn't destroy terrain.

In a Reddit thread on the same day, when questioned about how Ender Dragons phase through blocks, Notch went on record saying that "less overpowered" red dragons in the Overworld that wouldn't go through terrain would eventually be added. However, the red dragon has not subsequently been added.

Jeb informed participants of his AMA on Reddit that he would add red dragons, but was unsure exactly how.

On October 22, 2013, Dinnerbone tweeted that the red dragon is "shelved" and not in development.

Later, on December 15, 2013, a Dinnerbone post on Reddit indicated his belief that red dragons likely will be implemented at some point:



Barnacle
Notch commented that sea monsters were a possibility on Minecast on July 21, 2010. He particularly noted the possibility of sharks, though Mojang has since then denied that they will be added. Hostile aquatic mobs like the guardian and drowned have been added since then.

In the 2017 Mob Vote, a sea creature was one of the options. It was known as "Mob A", "The Monster of the Ocean Depths", or the Barnacle. It would have spawned in deep water and attacked players with a tentacle-like tongue to pull players down and drown them.

The Great Hunger and Wildfire
Two other creatures were present in the 2017 Minecon vote: One was "Mob C, The Great Hunger." It would have had a large mouth capable of removing enchantments from items and would have camouflaged itself by entering the ground with its mouth open upward. Jeb mentioned that the mob wouldn't have been aggressive, only damaging the player if they accidentally fell into its mouth, and it wouldn't have stripped enchantments from players' items unless players fed it intentionally. Its functionality was eventually replaced by the Grindstone.

The other mob was "Mob D, The Hovering Inferno." It would have looked like a large blaze with shields instead of rods, and would have spawned with groups of blazes in the nether. This mob however appears in the Minecraft Dungeons DLC Flames of the Nether under the name "Wildfire".

Mob B, the Monster of the Night Skies, was the Phantom, which won the vote and has been added.

Alligator, Monkey, Deer and River Dolphin
In 2018, a poll was held in which Chinese users could vote on which "national treasure" they thought would be added to Minecraft, to promote the release of Minecraft China. There were five options: giant panda, Chinese alligator, snub-nosed monkey, white-lipped deer, or baiji. The panda received the most votes and was the one added into the game. It was later stated on Minecraft Feedback that alligators and/or crocodiles, if implemented into the game, would likely not be hostile mobs as, like the shark (which was outright rejected), hostile mobs had to be fantasy creatures. It is unknown whether any of these mobs will be added.

Meerkat, Ostrich and Termite
In 2018, a biome vote was held between which biome should be the priority to update next. The updated biomes would also come with brand new mobs. There were three options: Desert, Savanna, or Taiga. The taiga won the vote and would be the first biome to be updated. The Taiga included the Fox, while the Desert will one day include the Meerkat, and the Savanna will include the  Ostrich and the  Termite. There has been no information as to when the Desert and Savanna will be updated.

Vulture
In 2019, another biome vote was held between which biome should be the priority to update next. The updated biomes would also come with brand new mobs. There were three options: Badlands, Swamp, or Mountains. The Mountains won the vote and would be the first biome to be updated. The Mountains included the Goat, and the Swamp included the Frog, while the Badlands will one day include the Vulture. The Goat was added in 1.17, while the Frog was added in 1.19. There has been no information as to when the Badlands will be updated.

Moobloom and Iceologer
In 2020, a mob vote was held between which mob should be added to the game next. There were three options: Moobloom, Iceologer, or Glow Squid. The Glow Squid won the vote and was added into the game in the Caves & Cliffs: Part I update. Jens has mentioned that the team will add the losing mobs if, or when, they fit and can be prioritized.

Glare and Copper Golem
In 2021, another mob vote was held to determine which new mob should be added to the game. There were three options: Glare, Allay, or Copper Golem. The Allay won the vote and was added to the game in the Wild Update. Jens has mentioned that the team will add the losing mobs if or when they fit and can be prioritized.

Rascal and Tuff Golem
In 2022, another mob vote was held to determine which new mob should be added to the game. There were three options: Sniffer, Rascal, or Tuff Golem. The Sniffer won the vote. Jens has mentioned that the team will add the losing mobs if or when they fit and can be prioritized.

Pigman Bodyguard
Development of a male mob which may have had no clothes was also mentioned by Dinnerbone in 2012,  but this is not currently being worked on. On April 14, 2020, Dinnerbone clarified that the mob was going to be a pigman bodyguard, which was naked by default so that the player could provide armor for it.

Ambient Mobs
In 2012, Jon Kågström mentioned fish, birds, and other tree animals, to "make the game seem more alive". Parrots and four different fish mobs were added in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Prefix Mobs
Notch mentioned prefix mobs in a Brocraft stream. He gave examples of mobs such as "Burning Spiders, Giant Zombies, and Cobble Creepers." Some prefix mobs have been added in the form of cave spiders, charged creepers, strays, husks, drowned, and other mob variants. Giant zombies have technically been added, but are currently unused. In the 3D Shareware April Fools update, the ORDER.txt jokingly mentions "11 new enemy variants including Buff Crepper and Evilshroom II" for a fake game: "MineCraft 3D: Deeper and darker."

Lava Zombie and Troll
Before the implementation of hostile mobs, Notch stated that he liked the idea of monsters such as lava zombies or troll infestations which would roam the land and break things. Later, the zombie was implemented.

Reindeer
Reindeer were another mob acknowledged and suggested initially for Christmas 2015. Minecraft Earth version 0.6.0 added the Jolly Llama, which is supposed to represent a reindeer. It is currently unknown if reindeer will one day be added to Minecraft or not.

Camouflaging Mob
A mob which camouflages with its environment was a concept considered by Jeb when designing the Shulker, which was originally one of the mob's mechanics during development - the mob would camouflage with the surroundings, but due to difficulties with the code and rendering, he decided to abandon this element of the mob. He stated however that it may happen in the future.

Illager Variants
In 2017, a jocular suggestion regarding adding more types of Illagers was posted. One of them, the Pillager, has been implemented in Java Edition 1.14. In Minecraft Dungeons, there is a mob known as the Iceologer, known internally as the Chillager. This mob was also part of the 2020 mob vote.

More Ocean Creatures
A more recent developer hinted about adding mobs involved adding seals/sea lions and/or orcas. This may be related to dolphins, which were added about a month later in 18w15a.

Soul Fire Blazes
Soul Fire Blazes were talked about by Jeb. He stated that he doesn't want to make another mob variant, but that it would be interesting to make a mob connected to soul fire.

Snails
Snails were talked about by Xilefian. He'd make them a cube the shape & size of a player head, like a mini Shulker with no foot or head, just the shell is visible and it will have solid collision and will require a pickaxe to mine. They only move when no players are looking at them, to give them the sense of moving slowly. When they do move it is 1 block at a time. They spawn in humid biomes when it rains at nighttime. If cooked on campfires then eat them you have a chance to gain a nautilus shell and possibly a 0.0001% chance of a Shulker shell. Dye their shells, race them and they potentially follow the paths of mossy blocks but you still have to look away for them to move. If given a book and if all players go to bed then when morning arrives the book is randomly delivered by the snail to another player. Maybe it lets you deliver an item to your base each time you sleep. If a splash potion of speed is thrown on them they move a little bit further when you look away.

Audio loops
Loops were unused sounds, found in the game files, and were possibly meant for when the player is in a specific type of location (i.e., in caves, forests, the ocean and beside a waterfall).

Trees
Several features regarding trees have been mentioned throughout the game's history.

Notch mentioned branches in a blog post during Indev. The addition of sideways logs seems to be an alternative for branches. Implemented on chorus trees and acacia trees, but not on ordinary trees.

The implementation of fallen trees (like those currently $$) has also been brought up, but appears to never have been actually undertaken beyond this mention $$. In Minecraft Live 2021, a fallen tree was present in a concept art of a birch forest.

Two tree species were mentioned at the biome vote for MINECON 2018 called the palm and baobab. However, both trees' host biomes were voted against and the trees have yet to appear in game despite being promised implementation later.

Cave and underground features
Many features relating to the underground and caves have been mentioned historically, but are yet to be seen in-game. Some suggestions which were approved by Mojang include rainbow crystalline caves and cave maps, considered "an interesting idea" by Notch. 1.13 added buffet worlds, which has an option for cave-like generation.

More ores and cave types was a general target proposed by Dinnerbone in late 2013. Since this post, flooded underwater caves have been implemented, along with 1.16 adding Ancient Debris and Nether Gold Ore, and 1.17 adding Copper Ore and Amethyst Crystals.

In Minecraft Live 2020, Caves & Cliffs update was announced, bringing more new types of caves.

Friends list
Notch mentioned on his blog, The Word of Notch, that friends lists would be added after Beta 1.8. The Minecraft documentary team of 2 Player Productions filmed a Keynote roadmap, containing these lines. Kristoffer mentioned on Twitter that he is currently working on friends lists for Scrolls, then for other Mojang games. These will be available for players with Mojang accounts. At MineCon 2012, Jeb stated that it would be a large implementation on the server-side and will be used for all Mojang games, and that is a big project. With the release of 1.16.4, the social interactions menu functions somewhat like a friends menu but not exactly, but the Xbox account system currently used on Bedrock and Java has a friends system.

Inventory changes
An inventory rewrite was originally added in the snapshot 14w07a for Java Edition 1.8, but a roadblock was hit and Mojang had to shelve the change before the release of 1.8. Other changes to the inventory have been mentioned, including spectators can now look at people's inventory, visible health/armor bar on all players, seeing players' GUI when spectating from their POV and the return of shift-double-clicking.

Lua scripting
Lua Scripting was a feature mentioned by Notch as a way to create server-side modifications. The server would be able to create custom commands, assign certain server functions to blocks, and create user groups. Players would not have to download scripts within or outside of the client, and therefore no client-side modifications will be necessary. Notch said that he wanted Lua to be an extension for Minecraft, but did not want Lua to turn Minecraft into a game engine.

Lua scripting has been further hinted at by Searge.

Certain plugins such as Spigot or Bukkit support Lua scripting implementation into servers, however these plugins are not created by nor affiliated with Mojang Studios and thus are not an official means in which to implement Lua scripting.

Nether features
Multiple features relating to the Nether have been proposed and acknowledged, such as utilizing the space above the Nether ceiling for something else, non-rectangular nether portals, and nether portals placing players in front if possible.

During the development of the Nether Update, other ideas were discussed, such as dyeable nether portals, which were dismissed as not being priority by Jeb. As a joke feature in Java Edition 20w14∞, funky portals were added and would change color depending on the text data found in a Written Book.

Rare tools/weapons
Dinnerbone said on Twitter he would like to add weapons/tools that cannot be crafted, and could only obtained through treasure chests/trading, etc. For example, bows with faster drawback (somewhat implemented with the addition of Quick Charge), boots that increase health, or night vision helmets. However, the attribute system has to be finished first.

Frost Walker and Mending were implemented as treasure enchantments in 1.9 as well as the Curses of Binding and Vanishing in 1.11, and tridents have been implemented in 1.13 as drowned-exclusive weapons, somewhat implementing this feature. In 1.16, treasure enchantments have also been made less accessible (therefore more rare) via nerfing AFK fishing, and the new Soul Speed enchantment is exclusively obtainable through Piglin bartering.

Resource packs
Grum mentioned that there may be easier customization of chat and sheep colors.

Since 1.16, the "color" tag in raw NBT text has been able to accept hexadecimal colors: /tellraw @s {"text":"proof","color":"#FF0000"}

Ryan Holtz stated that he wanted to improve the rendering system to allow for customizable models and animations. Dinnerbone later stated that player models would not be able to be changed.

Seasons
Dinnerbone mentioned on Twitter that he was experimenting with adding seasons, and varying the length of day and night according to season. He also mentioned it during MineCon 2013. Seasons may include changes in color of tree leaves and may also be tied to real time. The later released Minecraft Dungeons has a location called Pumpkin Pastures, which resembles an autumn-themed forest biome.

Spike block
Spikes received a mention in mid-2009 by Notch in a blog post. These 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.

The 1.17 update implemented Pointed Dripstone, which can damage mobs and players that fall on them, or are crushed by them.

Steel
Multiple references to steel were made early on in the game's development. Notch had stated that it could be made using coal and iron ore, and that it could be used for armor and weapons more powerful than iron. In-game, flint and steel is crafted using iron ingots, considering the lack of steel and the need of a “fire striker”, despite the name of the former.

Workbench (Plugin API)
The Plugin API, dubbed "Workbench", is a feature that allows mod developers to easily add more content to the game. In contrast to mods, plugins will not require any alteration of the minecraft.jar file itself, although they will also be slightly limited in their feature set. The Bukkit team will help make the official Plugin API.

Off-hand changes
Changes with the off-hand slot added in Java Edition 1.9 were planned on being added to Minecraft sometime in the future. Specifically, the player would no longer be able to or place blocks with any item in their off-hand slot, similar to Bedrock Edition. However, players would still be able to hold items in the off-hand slot, which still made the off-hand useful for maps and such. Also, blocking would still be able to be activated if the player is holding a shield in their off-hand. However, this regression was later retracted due to massive community backlash.

Cubic chunks
This refers to changing the chunk format to make chunks 16 blocks tall, allowing for infinite world height. Ryan Holtz discussed it with Erik Broes, but they decided they couldn't implement it, because of the difficulty of solving problems such as the occlusion of sky light. The feature was previously rejected by Notch for similar reasons.

Brief mentions
These features were briefly mentioned, but no further information was given after it's mention.

General features

 * More structures in biomes. Since this was mentioned, Woodland Mansions, End Cities, Shipwrecks, Underwater Ruins, Pillager Outposts, Ruined Portals and Bastion Remnants have been implemented.
 * More dimensions. Implemented in the April Fools' update Java Edition 20w14∞. In the Minecraft snapshot 20w21a, the ability to make custom dimensions was added.
 * More rare structures and terrain changes. Partially added with ice spikes.
 * All exclusive features ported to Java Edition. See Official pages/Parity issue list for more info.

Mentioned in 2009

 * In early development, Notch mentioned two more gamemodes, Team Survival Mode and Fortress Mode, which would include the ability to play Capture the Flag.
 * Additionally, difficulty modes were mentioned on of which were: "Walk in the Park" being the easiest, "Easy" which was added, and "Armageddon" being difficult even with 32 people.
 * Cobweb blocks being created by Spiders . This functionality appears as an attack in Minecraft Dungeons.
 * After denying the addition of penguins, Notch stated that a penguin hat would be a pretty neat Easter egg.

Mentioned in 2010

 * Animated swinging Doors.
 * Megabeasts were mentioned as a potential addition for late-game challenges along with ill omens followed by "a night of absolute horror". Ideas of ill omens were flickering torches and a big red eye appearing on the moon which would look around.   The Ender Dragon was added in 1.0, the bad omen effect was added in 1.14.
 * A realism slider for difficulty.
 * Colliding clouds.
 * Server portals.
 * Moon.
 * Dungeon Mode: Same as Survival Mode, except players can't craft or modify the world. Planned to have been used to play missions on pre-made maps. The later-implemented Adventure Mode functions similarly.
 * "Clan" mode. Most likely the same as Team Survival Mode mentioned in 2009.
 * Server-side scripting.
 * Land claim flags: planting a flag (possibly costs gold in Survival mode) claims an area of land. No monsters can spawn or die from age in that area, and only selected players can build in that area.
 * Smoke block: would be generated by fire, be passable, cast shadows, float upward and disappear after a short time. 1.14 added Campfires, which generate smoke particles similar to what was mentioned, but they are not blocks and do not cast shadows.
 * Gravity: all blocks except possibly Obsidian would be affected by gravity. Floating islands would need Obsidian blobs to stay afloat. Notch later stated that he disliked the idea.
 * More crafting templates: arrows, food, armor, etc. (Possibly added in Java Edition 1.14.)
 * In-game anti-cheat: make the server check for flying, no-clip and increased speed. Add those options to the client, but only enable if the server says it's okay.
 * Make moss grow on rock (likely means that Mossy Cobblestone would spread to Cobblestone) . In 1.17, Glow Lichen was introduced which functions similarly to the idea growing on stone in caves and spreading with Bone Meal.

Mentioned in 2011

 * The ability to choose what work saves to the level files.
 * Scarecrows. 1.14 added Pillager Outposts, which can generate a scarecrow-like target structure.
 * Storing of achievements and statistics online.
 * Custom Paintings.
 * Hand-drawn Signs.
 * Exploding Arrows. Partially implemented with the ability to shoot Firework Rockets from Crossbows.

Mentioned in 2012

 * Vertical Redstone.
 * Ability to design village buildings. Partially implemented with Structure Blocks.
 * Silk Touch yielding double Slab blocks.
 * Ability to pause the game in multiplayer, but only for ops. Users will then get to chat until the game is back.
 * Minecarts usable as Boats.
 * More colors and texture pack customizations of maps.
 * Flower pots breaking when hit by Arrows. This has been added for Chorus Flowers.
 * Fireworks having effects on mobs, such as scaring Wolves. Implemented with Elytra boosting and damaging mobs if explosive.
 * Maps would have more support for colors and support texture pack textures.
 * Calamari.

Mentioned in 2013

 * Minecart with Dispenser.
 * The image may have just been showcasing the custom tile displays in Minecarts which were added in the next snapshot, 13w02a. Minecart with Dispenser.png
 * Dinnerbone's original demonstration of the  format for resource packs contained a sample properties file for fonts to determine character size and spacing. Despite the game code containing the code to read the files, it never actually uses them leaving character width and spacing to be determined dynamically.
 * Enchanted items apply attributes on use.
 * Adding more places to display scoreboard scores.
 * Colored lighting.
 * A better UI for server admins/ops, inspired by the Twitch user moderation menu.
 * Better construction analysis.
 * A new system that could alter weapon behavior.
 * This has been partially implemented in Java Edition 15w34a with the implementation of attack speed.
 * Easier way to implement terrain changes.
 * Portable light (e.g. holding a torch in your hand which provides light).
 * A hug animation . Emotes have been implemented in Bedrock Edition, including a hug animation available for purchase.
 * Blocks of Charcoal, mentioned as something that would need to be implemented as to not complicate the existence of Blocks of Coal.
 * Smelting red sand into red glass.

Mentioned in 2014

 * Improved camera controls.
 * Dinnerbone has stated he has an "Ultimate Plan" with Endermites that might include the Dragon Egg.
 * Rewriting the key bind system.
 * Building a custom sound system.
 * Sheep showing their color when shorn, like the Bedrock Edition.
 * Multithreaded terrain generation rendering.
 * Fixes to chunk loading.
 * JSON support on signs and possibly implementing a way to "make it work in survival". Searge later said "The plan is to eventually have every text that can be displayed on the screen use the text component system, then using § won't be necessary anymore."
 * Another rabbit skin.
 * Ryan Holtz originally mentioned adding a slider for cloud height, though he later stated the idea was controversial among the team so he scrapped it.
 * Using the killer rabbit killing mobs for something.
 * Mesa temples.
 * OAuth.
 * Being able to make the world border's center slowly move.

Mentioned in 2015

 * Corn
 * In game lore . Implemented in the April Fools' update Java Edition 20w14∞, where books written by "§kDeepest Lore" would appear in End Ship chests, containing short, obfuscated and unserious "orders".
 * Making it so shields are used to block attacks from the side the shield is held on.
 * Allowing mobs to have additional random skins, similar to the kind of variation seen in horses, cats and rabbits.
 * Giving the ability to rotate and mirror structures.  Structure blocks were later given the ability to rotate structures.
 * Minecart improvements after/in 1.10
 * Improvements to the GUI. These would allow the glowing effect to be seen on the inventory player model.

Mentioned in 2016

 * Phasing out the minecart with furnace.
 * New musician villager that trades note blocks, jukeboxes, and music discs.
 * A Dragon Head banner pattern.
 * If a piston gets powered and is unable to push, showing a smoke particle effect and playing a small "clunk" sound.
 * If the bow used to craft a dispenser is enchanted, making the arrows fired from the dispenser to act accordingly.

Mentioned in 2017

 * Ability to edit the skybox and biome/foliage/light colors in resource packs
 * A set of prismarine blocks with a color scheme matching that of the Elder Guardian, similarly to how regular prismarine imitates normal Guardians.

Mentioned in 2018

 * Data-driven world generation using .json files, allowing for custom structures. Partially added in snapshot 20w28a with the addition of experimental support for custom biomes.
 * A portal that would teleport the player to a different place in the Overworld.
 * Penguins

Mentioned in 2019

 * Making beds use block models again.
 * A crawling animation.
 * Illusioners in raids.
 * The early 1.15 snapshots included textures for a crystallized honey item and wax block, however, these were allegedly not meant to make it into the game in the first place. Wax block could have been a placeholder for Honeycomb as it serves similar purposes to wax as of 20w45a. The word "wax" is also applied when infusing honeycomb within a certain state of a copper block.
 * Nether Portal like thing that will teleport the player to the Moon or Mars.

Mentioned in 2020

 * Nether boats, presumably made out of the new wood or netherite to use in lava. Striders serve a similar purpose.

Mentioned in 2021

 * Making the world generation code be part of the vanilla data pack inside the jar file.
 * Glow worms.
 * Rivers flowing from high to low elevations.
 * Warm river biomes with no rain.

Mentioned in 2022

 * Making red mushrooms poisonous, to reflect the real-life mushroom they're based on.
 * Sloths.

Mentioned in 2023

 * A flowering wall plant.

Mentioned in unknown years

 * Mob-spawning will be more balanced. Partially Implemented in 1.18 when Monster mobs will only spawn when the block light level is 0.
 * On Minecraft Feedback Mojang announced that they would implement the idea for making hopper and chest minecarts able to ride boats. The idea was so that it would be easier to transport items across water. Partially implemented: The Boat with Chest was added in Java Edition 22w12a, which allowed chests to be combined with boats for easy item transport through water.
 * "Stone chunks", which would be obtained by smelting gravel and would be used to craft stone bricks

Joke features


Notch and Mojang Studios employees have frequently joked about adding various features to the game.


 * Searge jokingly stated that due to the fact that people didn't dislike the changes in the 15w42a snapshot, he would add a fuel requirement to crafting tables.
 * Koalas in tanks riding on planes with laser rifles was jokingly added to the "maybe later" list by Searge.
 * Hot dogs.
 * Herobrine. In every new major Minecraft update, it says "removed Herobrine", but Herobrine was never implemented. This has also appeared in the changelog for Scrolls version 0.103.0.
 * When Hardcore mode was announced, a joke screenshot of "Ultra Hardcore Mode" was shown, where death would revoke an account's premium status.
 * Beavers.
 * Jeb joked about adding chips if 100% of the community agreed on what type the chips would be.
 * Jeb joked about adding more types of dragons. In response, MissMarzenia joked "DRAGONS CONFIRMED."
 * 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. Partially added in Java Edition 1.13 with Fish and Corals.
 * Pine cones.
 * Dinnerbone joked about adding dwarves when asked about it.
 * A texture known in the game files as "skis.png", was added in the Christmas/New Year update. Its textures were added by Dinnerbone as a red herring.
 * SethBling mentioned a downside of Command Blocks on one of his livestreams, and Dinnerbone joked about removing Command Blocks to accommodate him.
 * Dinnerbone joked that Minecraft pizza would be a good idea to add, and as a joke KrisJelbring stated that pizza is confirmed to be added.
 * After the announcement of Pillagers (over a year before the actual announcement of Village & Pillage), Dinnerbone and Jeb joked about several more villager portmanteaus:
 * Drillager: he comes and pokes holes in things.
 * Fillager: he fixes the previous guys stuff.
 * Thrillager: really likes heights and scary things.
 * Killager: but we kind of already have that.
 * Spillager: prevents you from drinking potions.
 * Stillager: just stands around blocking important doorways.
 * Millager: the only hard working one of the bunch.
 * Krillager: Swims around and gets eaten by whales
 * Henrik Kniberg showcased dancing Hoglins on Twitter while implementing such a dance for Piglins for Bedrock parity. The Hoglin dance was a blooper that will not be implemented.
 * Xilefian joked about adding Worcestershire sauce to Minecraft if people told him what the best foods to pour Worcestershire sauce on are.
 * Block of Eternal Screaming, showcased in multiple official Mojang videos.
 * Mobbo, a joke mob shown in several episodes of the "How We Make Minecraft" series on Minecraft's YouTube channel.
 * Bananas, Barbecue Bananas and a Washing Machine block were joked about being added to the game in a tweet chain by kingbdogz and Xilefian.
 * Hydraulic Excavator Mech Suits were joked about being added by Xilefian. He said it could have lasers, fly with jet engines, make lots of noise, have a holographic HUD that tells you where to dig for diamonds, gives you +400% health, and powered by rabbits' feet to keep it balanced.
 * During the development of 1.19, Kingbdogz joked about that Wardens would ask the player really, really nicely for it to get down and then they would offer some tea and invite it over for some cake.
 * On the topic of the Brush crafting recipe, Chi joked about adding "tickling" to Minecraft.
 * The Dust and Rust Update was a joke name for the 1.20 update proposed and disapproved in Minecraft Monthly.
 * Mojang has made several April Fools jokes:
 * In 2010, Minecraft 4D was supposed to release as a video on Notch's YouTube channel. It was cancelled because Notch was moving offices.
 * In 2011, the Locked Chest or "Steve Co. Supply Crate" was temporarily added which "allowed" various micro-transactions in the game.
 * In 2013, Mojang released Minecraft 2.0 which contained features such as Pink Withers and Redstone Bugs.
 * In 2014, the default sounds were replaced with a voice (specifically, that of ElementAnimation, a famous YouTuber group known for making several popular videos about Minecraft) saying the name of the sound's source, the music was replaced with a rendition of the title theme of the TV series Game of Thrones (consisting of the word "door" repeated to the tune of the music), and everyone's skins were replaced with modified versions of the villager textures, edited to fit the player model. This was all blamed on the Villagers.
 * In 2015, Mojang released 15w14a, which made all the mobs in the game friendly and loving.
 * In 2016, Mojang released 1.RV-Pre1, which added trendy items of 2016.
 * In 2017, the Mine & Craft Digital Leisure Device was announced on the Minecraft website.
 * In 2018, Mojang released an 8-bit resource pack to 1.12.x and versions from 17w43a to 18w11a clients.
 * In 2019, Mojang released 3D Shareware v1.34, which changed the game's visual style to resemble 1990s video games.
 * In 2020, Mojang released 20w14∞, which added over 2 billion new dimensions.
 * In 2021, Mojang released Minecraft Plus, a screensaver app.
 * In 2022, Mojang released 22w13oneBlockAtATime, which overhauled the player's inventory as well as the game logic for blocks, items and entities.

Minecraft 2.0 changelog
The changelog for the April Fools update Minecraft 2.0 contained numerous features that were not actually included. Despite the changelog being part of the joke, many of these features have since been implemented into the game.

The changelog: