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Minecraft has revealed its third drop for 2026: a new forest biome and and abandoned camps you can find within. Mojang is still in the early days of development for the dappled forest update though, so there's a lot for us to learn before it releases later this year. After the Chaos Cubed update sent us underground, it's nice to have an upcoming update that shoots us back out to explore the overworld.
We don't actually know the official name of the update yet, so until then we're just calling it by its main feature: the Dappled Forest. Getting teases for features over the next couple of months is part of the fun, so here's everything there is to know about the dappled forest update so far.
When will the dappled forest update come out?
The dappled forest update will launch in fall 2026, but we don't know a more specific timeframe than that yet. The features we have seen haven't made it to testing yet, which implies there's quite a wait ahead of us too. Hopefully once the Chaos Cubed update releases in June, we'll start to see a little more information about the next drop.
If it's anything like last year's drop schedule, we could see the dappled forest update as soon as September. Given the autumnal vibes in the first reveal, it would be the perfect update to ship ahead of the season.
What's included in the dappled forest update?
The main thing in the update is the dappled forest biome. This new woodland area will have bright red, orange, and yellow poplar trees, basically shaking up the greens and greys we are used to seeing in the overworld. Don't get me wrong, I love stumbling across a birch or spruce forest, but I am incredibly excited to have such a colourful biome.
The ground will also be coated in orangey coloured grass, and covered in leaf litter, red shrubs, and brown mushrooms, kind of like the cherry grove biome which has pink petals all over the ground. Once again, an entirely new set of poplar wood blocks is coming, so builders are getting treated well. When broken down into planks and slabs, poplar wood has a warm greyish tone, making it one of the lighter shades available in the game.
Apart from the forest itself, a new structure will be added as part of the update: abandoned camps. They have a tent-like building made from wool steps, a campfire, a few chests or barrels to loot and you'll only find them in the dappled forests. No hints were given on whether items like maps can be looted here, so it could just be your bog-standard apples and armor loot, but at least it's some form of shelter if you need a quick base for the night.
What do we not know about the dappled forest yet? A new biome might mean a new passive mob too, but we've not seen one mentioned yet. With how significant the addition of the pale garden and the Creaking felt back in December 2024, it wouldn't be too surprising if the dappled forest was home to a more ominous mob. It would certainly disrupt the cosy atmosphere though.
