UPDATED: Notes from the MC Live 2023 – Recap

A rundown of Minecraft Live 2023 (formerly MineCon) highlights! The whole show was impressive with great animations and all-round fun, but I’m calling certain things for what they are (ads). Furthermore, the Bedrock Edition MC Live server is still online for a day. From what I’ve seen online, joining players get a pink cape (may be delayed in showing), and those who voted got themed character items.

Pre-show and intro

Various Minecraft creators and YouTubers made an appearance, welcoming players and showing the variety of things they create in the community. During the Live, Mojang staff couldn’t have been any more forcefully excited – was someone holding them hostage? The main show kicked off with a community showcase reel, emphasizing the 1.20 theme that Minecraft is our story and connects us.

Minecraft Legends ad

• Updates: Can pet all animals, beacon waypoints, better AI pathfinding, custom campaigns
• Other updates: New “Lost legends” free monthly challenges (e.g. play as a llama)
• Upcoming updates: Mountable frogs, Piglin Clanger enemy, air chopper structure, witch ally

Animations and collabs

• Sniffer and camel animation
• Bedrock Marketplace Star Wars: Path of the Jedi ad
• A literal ad for their YouTube channel on their YouTube channel
• Minecart scene: Jeb has amazing hair, and “Is this the right way” pun as Lydia takes a right turn
• In-game VS LEGO build prompt battle (Ad to see the build 16-31st at the LEGO store Fifth Ave.)
• Everyone is still being held hostage to be overly happy (probably)

Penguin is voted out

• Penguin is the first mob to be out
• Marketplace ad featuring creators (UwU <- relevant)
• Jeb speed-runs an epic nether portal archway in 10 seconds flat
• The whole live takes place in green-screen Minecraft and not real life
• BBC Earth x MC Edu collab for Frozen Planet 3 coming next year
• They’re now at a studio table. But in Minecraft.
• 500k watchers peak

1.21 update previews

• Mojang has been developing tools back-end to make updates more efficient
• They plan to revisit previously added features (e.g. decorated pot storage in recent snapshot)
• Focus of next update: Combat, Adventure and Tinkering (Cat for short)
• Minecraft turns 15 next year
• Added: Trial chamber structure – procedurally generated dungeon with challenges/treasure
• Added: New tuff variations e.g. bricks, polished tuff, walls
• Added: Copper variations e.g. grate, bricks, trapdoors
• Added: Copper bulb that dims as it turns oxidized, and has to be cleaned with an axe
• Added: New spawner type in trial chamber (“Ode to monster rooms”)
• Spawns unique mobs like stray, spits out reward based on player count once all mobs dead
• Re-useable: Smoke indicated spawner cooldown
• Breeze: Witherlike mob with wind charge that blows things away or deal damage on collision
• Jumps and can interact with certain things (e.g. blowing trapdoors open, pushing buttons)
• The Breeze coms with “epic eyebrows”
• So they’re adding a minigame to vanilla MC
• Added: Crafter block – automatic crafting, can spit out an item after receiving a redstone pulse
• Toggle-able slots inside the hopper to indicate shape of ingredients (poured via a hopper)

Outro and mob vote

• Casual realms ad
• In the coming weeks, first snapshots of new update are coming
• Admadillo won the mob vote, RIP crab
• Despite hate, there was apparently the biggest participation in the mob vote ever
• Singer song-writed Alec Benjamin does a short MC remix of “Let me down slowly”
• Throughout all this, the chat was crazy and filled with #STOPTHEMOBVOTE spam

Launcher Live update

• The game Launcher has a new LIVE tab
• Has a link to the Live, info on the Armadillo, and the mob info/FAQ from Minecraft Live | Minecraft

Personally, 1.20 and 1.21 seem so dis-organized. A bunch of random features, like slapping on a massive trial chamber with multiple blocks made specifically just for this structure, from thin air? However, many features like new blocks and the crafter received a deserved warm welcome from the community!

• UPDATE: The trial chamber looks like surprisingly good fun! Watch DanTDM play it here.
• Re-watch the Live here (55 minutes long + 20 minute pre-show): Minecraft Live 2023 – YouTube
• New highlights are being released to the official Mojang channel: Minecraft – YouTube

IMAGES: MOJANG