Game drop

This article is about updates released under the new schedule. For annual updates, see Major update. For other uses, see Drop (disambiguation).

A game drop^[1] (or sometimes referred to as "drop")^[2] is a type of named update. Like major updates, they add new features (such as new blocks, items, and mobs) that are mostly related to a central theme. Three to four game drops are released each year in a quarterly schedule.

Game drops are loosely planned up to two years at most in advance, give or take, depending on community feedback.^[3] A game drop can be small, like Bundles of Bravery, or large, like Wilderness Bound. Game drops can have any number of features, and can tackle any feature types.^[4]

The game drop system was first announced with the release of Armored Paws. Bats and Pots was then retroactively called a drop.

For the most part, one game drop is released in each business quarter of a year.

Game drops can be classified into four types, based on which season it is in the Northern Hemisphere season when they are released.

• Spring Drop
• Summer Drop
• Fall Drop
• Winter Drop

While this nomenclature is not typically used for drops, it has been used by developers on various occasions:

• The experimental toggle for The Garden Awakens in Java Edition was called "Winter Drop".
• Spring to Life was referred to as a "spring drop" in it's manifest.json file in Bedrock Edition^[5] as well as in an image on Minecraft.net.^[6]
• Chase the Skies was referred to as a "summer drop" by a Mojang employee^[7] as well as in an image on Minecraft.net that used "Su25" as an shortening of Summer 2025.^[8]
• The Copper Age was referred to as a "fall drop" in it's manifest.json file in Bedrock Edition^[9] as well as in an image on Minecraft.net that used "FA25" as a shortening of Fall 2025.^[10]
• Wilderness Bound was referred to as the "fall drop" at Minecraft LIVE – September 2026^[11]
• The short link for the fourth drop of 2026's feedback section was https://aka.ms/mc-gamedrop_winter26.^[12]

• Major update
• Named update
• Version types
• Version history

v t e Minecraft
General game aspects Help Controls Historical Options‌[JE only] World Settings‌[BE only] Tutorials Mechanics Menu screens Aspects Background Panorama Historical Logo Splash Instances Title Screen Select World‌[JE only] Play‌[BE only] Create New World Edit world‌[BE only] Loading world screen Game Menu Game customization Add-ons Mods Data packs Behavior packs Resource packs Textures Skin Capes Character Creator Sound effects pack Miscellaneous Autosave Character Credit sequence § End Poem Demo Easter eggs Herobrine Rendering Sound Closed captions Version formats Version types Named update Game drop Major update Concept art Key art Launcher Preview Mythology
Editions Java Discontinued MinecraftEdu Bedrock Minecraft Education Merged Pocket Edition Windows 10 Edition Ports to consoles Xbox One Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X|S Nintendo Switch 2 Discontinued Pi Edition Protocol Gear VR Edition Apple TV Edition Fire TV Edition China Game Experience Area Miscellaneous Minecraft Classic Discontinued Legacy Console Xbox 360 Edition Xbox One Edition PlayStation 3 Edition PlayStation 4 Edition PlayStation Vita Edition Wii U Edition Nintendo Switch Edition Miscellaneous Minecraft 4k New Nintendo 3DS Edition