Caves & Cliffs

Caves & Cliffs, also known as the Cave Update,[2] is the name of two major themed updates for Java and Bedrock editions. The first part was released as Java Edition 1.17 and Bedrock Edition 1.17.0 on June 8, 2021,[3][4] which focused on blocks and mobs. The second part was released as Java Edition 1.18 and Bedrock Edition 1.18.0[5] on November 30, 2021,[6] and brought major changes to Overworld generation, including new caves and mountains.

Caves & Cliffs was announced in Minecraft Live 2020,[7] and on April 14, 2021, Mojang Studios announced that the update would be split into two portions due to the amount and complexity of content, as well as team health.[8] It was later announced in Minecraft Live 2021 that the Deep Dark portion, as well as certain items, of the Caves & Cliffs update would be delayed until The Wild Update to improve quality.

On Java Edition, Part I started development with snapshot 20w45a, which was released on November 4, 2020. The first pre-release for Caves & Cliffs: Part I was released on May 27, 2021, and the first release candidate on June 4, 2021. Part II started development with 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1, which was released on July 13, 2021, followed by the first pre-release on November 11, 2021, and the first release candidate on November 25, 2021.