Minecraft Fourth Drop 2026: Ice Caves, Frostbite and More

The Minecraft Fourth Drop 2026 is the next game drop, coming as Java Edition 26.4 and Bedrock Edition 26.70 in the fourth quarter of 2026. It adds ice caves, a new cave biome full of icicles and ice crystals, plus the frostbite mob, ice balls and a new Freezing effect. It isn't out yet: Java players can test it in snapshots right now.

Mojang announced the drop at Minecraft LIVE in September 2026. Before it got its final name, it went by Winter Drop 2026, Holiday Drop 2026 and Drop 4 of 2026, so you may see any of those in search results.

Everything in the Fourth Drop 2026 at a glance

Feature	Type	What it does
Ice caves	Cave biome	Generates under frozen biomes, with calcite, packed ice, icicles and ice crystals
Icicle	Block	Hangs from ceilings or stands on the ground; falls and hurts entities
Ice crystal	Block	Grows on ice cave floors and gives off light level 4
Frostbite	Mob	Zombie variant from snowy biomes that freezes you or throws ice balls
Ice ball	Item	Throwable projectile dropped by frostbites
Freezing	Effect	Damage over time plus slowness
Potion of Freezing	Potion	Awkward potion brewed with an ice ball
Arrow of Freezing	Tipped arrow	Gives the Freezing effect on hit
Frostbite spawn egg	Item	Spawns a frostbite
New ice sounds	Sounds	Regular ice gets its own sounds

Release date and versions

The drop is planned for Q4 2026, which means sometime between October and December. There's no exact date yet.

Edition	Version	Status
Java Edition	26.4	In snapshots (2 so far)
Bedrock Edition	26.70	Experiments planned for Bedrock 26.60 first

The current Java release is 26.3 "Wilderness Bound". To see the newest release and snapshot at any moment, check our Minecraft update tracker.

How to try the Fourth Drop early

You don't have to wait for the full release to explore ice caves. Here is how each edition gets early access:

1. Java: play the 26.4 snapshots. Read our breakdowns of 26.4 Snapshot 1 and 26.4 Snapshot 2 to see what each one changed.
2. Bedrock: the drop's experimental features are planned to arrive in Bedrock 26.60, before the finished version lands in 26.70.
3. Either edition: use a fresh test world or a copy of your main world. Test versions can still change, and features may work differently by release.

Ice caves: the new cave biome

Ice caves are the headline of this drop. They usually generate underneath frozen biomes. Sometimes they show up under cold biomes too, though rarely, and they can occasionally reach the surface.

Inside, you'll find calcite, packed ice, icicles, ice crystals and the odd patch of snow. Big clusters of icicles hang from the ceilings, and some caves have large pillar shapes built from ice and packed ice.

A few things make ice caves worth a trip:

• More ores: ores have a higher chance to generate inside the blobs of stone and deepslate here.
• No glow lichen: unlike other cave biomes, ice caves don't grow it, so bring your own light.
• Tougher spawns: normal cave monsters spawn here, plus strays and frostbites.

To find one, head for frozen biomes and dig down. If you already know where the snowy parts of your world are, that's your best starting point.

New blocks: icicles and ice crystals

Icicle

Icicles generate as stalactites on ice cave ceilings. You can also place them on the ground as stalagmites.

They are dangerous. A falling icicle damages anything it lands on, and if you fall onto an icicle stalagmite, your fall damage gets multiplied. Watch your step when you move around them.

Icicles also react to their surroundings:

• The column part melts and breaks near a strong enough light source.
• They melt and break in the Nether.
• A stalactite grows longer when packed ice sits above it (not in the Nether).

Mojang has confirmed that icicles you place yourself won't melt from light, but that change isn't in the game yet.

Ice crystal

Ice crystals grow on the ground in ice caves. Each one gives off a light level of 4, a small amount of light. You can place them on any side of a block, so they work on floors, walls and ceilings.

The frostbite mob

The frostbite is a new zombie variant you'll find in snowy biomes. It burns in sunlight.

How it attacks:

• Most frostbites use a melee hit that gives you the Freezing effect.
• Some spawn holding ice balls and throw them at you from range.

What makes it different:

• It's immune to Freezing.
• It doesn't sink in powder snow.
• When killed, it drops rotten flesh and ice balls, even if it wasn't holding any.

How frostbites form: zombies and husks turn into frostbites when they freeze. That happens after 30 seconds in powder snow. It works the other way too: a frostbite that stays underwater for 30 seconds turns back into a zombie.

Ice balls, Freezing and the new potion

Ice ball

The ice ball is a throwable projectile you get from killed frostbites. Its damage depends on how fast it's flying, and it slows down sharply after it's thrown, like a snowball. It also gives steady knockback.

Freezing effect

Freezing deals damage over time and slows your movement. The fix is simple: wear at least one piece of leather armor. That blocks the freezing damage, though you'll still be slowed.

Put on a leather cap or leather boots before you go into an ice cave so you're covered.

Potion and Arrow of Freezing

Brew an ice ball into an awkward potion to make a Potion of Freezing. There's also an Arrow of Freezing, a tipped arrow that gives the effect on hit. Remember that frostbites are immune, so save these for other targets.

Other changes in Java 26.4

The snapshots also bring smaller changes that are easy to miss:

• Mushrooms: brown and red mushrooms can now be placed on any block with a solid top face, at any light level. They still only spread in low light or on blocks like mycelium.
• Sulfur caves in old worlds: upgrading a world from before Caves & Cliffs now also generates sulfur caves under the old chunks.
• Fog: objects at the edge of your render distance now fade out instead of turning into a solid color.
• Debug screen: the F3 overlay is sorted into categories and easier to read.
• Sky: with Improved Transparency on, the sky and clouds behind terrain blend into the fog, and the bottom half of the Overworld sky now hides the sun, moon and stars.
• Graphics: the "Default" Graphics API setting now acts like "Prefer Vulkan".
• Server addresses: the Server Address field can now carry extra properties, and an address written as id@host is read as the host with an id attached. Servers can also share contact details in their status.
• Bug fixes: 79 issues fixed so far, including players and mobs jumping on their own in water and item frames dropping above the block when removed from a ceiling.

If you're new to joining servers, our guide on how to join a Minecraft server on any device covers the basics for every platform.

Does the Fourth Drop add a music disc?

No new music disc is listed for the Fourth Drop so far. Java still has 22 discs, and the newest one is Bounce from 26.2. See our list of every Minecraft music disc and where to find it for the full set.

The sulfur cave change matters for disc hunters, though. Bounce comes from minecart chests in mineshafts inside sulfur caves, about 42% of the time. Once you update to 26.4, an upgraded pre-Caves & Cliffs world will also get sulfur caves under its old chunks. Our Bounce music disc guide explains the hunt step by step.

The giant jukebox nightclub at spawn, filmed on JukeZone.

If you want music while you wait for the drop, JukeZone (play.jukezone.net, free on Java and Bedrock) has a nightclub inside a giant jukebox where DJ JUKE takes song requests. Dancing in the club earns you in-game money.

Keep up with the drop

This page gets updated as new snapshots and Bedrock previews add or change features. Features in testing can still shift before the Q4 release, so check the updated date at the top.

Want to talk ice caves and frostbite strategies with other players? Join the JukeZone community on Discord.