Summary
The first show of the year,theMinecraft Live Spring 2025eventoffered players a look into upcoming features and changes to various facets of the Minecraft franchise. Between a release date for the upcoming Spring Drop, featuring refreshed textures for old mobs and ambiance additions, and a look into content coming sometime in the summer, the event was short but sweet.
The announcements mostly focused on the game itself, instead of addons or other games,with a touch on theMinecraftmovie. Showcasing an old mob in a new way, new features for player convenience, and better visuals, the top five announcements for this Minecraft Live are clear.
5Locator Bar
Finding Friends
A way to better locate other players without needing to deal with the often overwhelming coordinates screen, the Locator Bar adds colored blips to show the player where other nearby players are. While this feature was announced shortly beforeLive, the event went into further detail and demonstrated how this new Bar actually works.
With the Locator Bar showing where other players are within a given range, establishing locations for player bases and where those players are has been greatly simplified. This is especially true in combination withthe recipe change to the Lodestone block,making it far cheaper as it is now crafted with an iron ingot instead of netherite. SinceBedrock Editiondoesn’t have access to the coordinates screen, these changes are something of a necessity, by conveying important information in a non-intrusive style.
4Spring To Life Drop
Refreshed Mobs And Environment
According to announcements at the event, the newest Drop is coming toMinecraftvery soon. The now-titled Spring To Life Drop features new variants of older mobs, as well as various additions and improvements to the atmosphere of the game.
The Spring To Life Drop comes out onTuesday, March 25for players looking forward to the redemption of fireflies inMinecraft.Players will also get new flowers andbiome-dependent variants for pigs, chickens, and cows.This Drop also adds more sounds to blocks, creating a livelier feel to various biomes, with sounds for wind and scattering sand.
3Vibrant Visuals
Built-In Shaders
This one is a surprise addition for both versions of the game. AtMinecraft Live, it was announced that better visuals in the form ofofficial shaders called Vibrant Visualswill be arriving at some point in the near future. This will offer the fancy lighting and water graphics that players familiar with shaders have come to expect in their video games.
The addition of official shaders adds a new level of interest to the art style ofMinecraft.This is especially clear with how these shaders feature pixelated and almost animated shadows, instead of the smoother shadows seen with most shaders. It’s clear that the update will improve the visuals while maintaining the game’s trademark blocky style. While the Vibrant Visuals will first arrive in Bedrock, Java will eventually receive this updated appearance modifier.
2Ghastling
A Friendly Face In The Nether
Perhaps the cutest announcement this Live, the Ghastling and its suspended animation Dried form open up new potential for how mobs can behave in the game. Players can only naturally find the Dried Ghastling block around fossilsin the Nether, specifically in the Soulsand Valley biome. The only way to revive this tiny creature is by bringing it back to the Overworld and submerging it in water, until it fully rehydrates and reawakens.
The Ghastling is a cute little creature, and appears to be the semi-grown-up version of the vote-winning Baby Ghast fromMinecraft Dungeons.It does not shoot fireballs like the far sadder Ghasts that players can find in the Nether. It is tempted by snowballs, which can also be used to speed up its growth in the game.
1Happy Ghast
Minecraft’s Newest Mount
The Happy Ghast sounds like something that would be part ofMinecraft’s annual April Fools updates. However, it is instead the newest and potentially most useful mount coming to the game sometime in the summer. According to what was seen atMinecraft Live,it allows players to fly at a gentler speed than the elytra, fly with other players, and easily place blocks and build akin to Creative Mode. It’s clear that Happy Ghast is more than worth a trip to the Nether.
Most conveniently for the Happy Ghast, the saddle required to pilot it is entirely craftable. It is called a harness, and even comes in all the available wool colors. In addition to being adorable, the goggles for the Ghast also indicate whether there is a player piloting it, as they only cover the Ghast’s eyes when driving. Happy Ghasts can also be controlled by a lead, and most critically, can be used as a floating platform as players that dismount from this living balloon can walk around the top of it. The Ghast is polite and remains still when a player is nearby. Exploring the Overworld, traversing the Nether, and hunting down elytras in the End will only improve when this gentle giant enters the game.
