In a short announcement, the company says the update will feature new mobs, items, blocks, and status effects, in addition to UI, game and tutorial updates. Here is a detailed overview of some of the new features:
- If you're sick of spending all your time walking on solid ground, just equip the new Elytra, which enables players to glide through the air!
- You'll find your Elytra in The End, which has been updated to include End Cities, End Ships and all the Chorus Plants, Flowers and Purpur you can handle. Don't say we didn't warn you if one turns out to be a Shulker.
- Like potions? Use Dragon's Breath to create Lingering Potions if you want to leave some status effects on the ground for a friend or foe to happen upon. Speaking of status effects, we're adding a couple new ones as well – Levitation and Luck.
- If you're just getting started on a new world on Xbox One or PlayStation 4, you can turn on Amplified Terrain. This option makes the differences between mountains and valleys more extreme – so put that Elytra to good use!
Image credit: Mojang
More details on the update will be shared when it launches in late December across all Minecraft console platforms. The Holiday Update will be free to download.
Mojang keeps being busy
Mojang is keeping itself busy with constantly updating the game. Just recently, it announced the 1.0 Ender update for Windows 10 and Pocket editions. The update doubles block height to 256, gives access to the End and concludes the game's beta status.
The Ender update also enabled Apple TV support. As a result, the Apple TV Edition will ship with the full features of Pocket.
The game was also featured in Microsoft's 60-minute tutorial to show the basics of coding and computer science. The event, called Minecraft Hour of Code, was the second of its kind, continuing the huge success from last year.
Microsoft also made Minecraft: Education Edition available in 50 countries, moving it out of the preview phase.
The company purchased Mojang for $2.5 billion three years ago. Since then, Microsoft has viewed Minecraft as more than just a game, as evidenced by recent developments.
