The Sift, Minecraft's first new dimension in 14 years, arrives in 2027, and the next game drop goes into ice caves

Mojang Studios held the fall edition of Minecraft LIVE on September 26. The headline was a new dimension. After the Overworld, the Nether and the End, a fourth dimension called the Sift comes to Minecraft Java and Bedrock editions in 2027. It is the first new dimension in more than 14 years[1]. Everything below was checked against the official recap as of September 27, 2026.

The Sift opens first in Minecraft Dungeons II

Mojang only said the Sift reaches the main game in 2027, with no month or season. The broadcast showed a brief look at the Sift inside Minecraft and one of the mobs that lives there[1].

The game that lets you walk into the Sift now is Minecraft Dungeons II, out September 29. Rifts open across its world and carry you into the Sift, which holds areas such as the Meadow and the Carapace[1]. The Korean Steam store lists the release as September 30[3].

Dungeons II is also built differently from the first game. The original sent you into separate, level-based missions; the sequel has one interconnected world, and you can jump[1].

The next game drop is ice caves

The next game drop for Minecraft is ice caves, a new underground biome in the same family as dripstone caves and lush caves. It is filled with ice, calcite blocks and two new blocks, icicles and ice crystals. Icicles grow naturally on the ceiling, and ice crystals grow on the ground and give off a soft light[1].

A new mob comes with it: a frozen variant of the zombie that does not have a name yet. Its hits deal damage and also apply a freezing effect, and some of them throw ice balls[1]. In the after show, developers and creators went into the ice caves and ran into this zombie. Mojang did not give a release date for the drop[1].

Announcements outside the game

Minecraft arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 on October 27. The recap gives only that date; it does not mention a price or how owners of the Switch version move over[1].

Minecraft World opens at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in London in 2027. It includes the first Minecraft World Hotel and the first Minecraft rollercoaster, Escape the Nether, which runs both indoors and outdoors[1].

Sound Effects Packs are coming to the Minecraft Marketplace, with no date set. Under the name Creator Platform, Mojang also described a goal of making the tools for creating, managing and sharing game content easier to use, but gave no specific features or timeline. Minecraft Education marked its 10th birthday during the show[1].

If you want to see the Sift first

Seeing the Sift in Minecraft itself means waiting until 2027. If you want to see it sooner, Minecraft Dungeons II on September 29 is the only way in, and it joins Game Pass on day one, so subscribers do not need to buy it separately[2]. On the Minecraft side, Mojang also announced its next community challenge: placing 50 million straw beds and 200 million cushions around the Overworld. The recap does not give a start date[1].

Sources

[1] Mojang Studios. Minecraft Live: September 2026 Recap. Minecraft.net, September 26, 2026.

[2] Microsoft. Minecraft Dungeons II on Xbox. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[3] Valve. Steam app details API, appid 1912410. Accessed September 27, 2026.