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Minecraft Spring to Life update hits next week, Vibrant Visuals coming later this year

Minecraft's Vibrant Visuals will give Mojang's long-running classic a new visual coat of paint.

Ozzie Mejia

March 22, 2025 12:00 PM

Mojang

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Minecraft fans got a treat on Saturday, as Mojang offered some fresh details on the game's next two updates. The next big one is set to release next week with Spring to Life adding some exciting new features to the long-running world-building adventure. A second update was also detailed and will focus on more than new additions to the world. It will also give Minecraft a new visual upgrade for a new generation... while still keeping it looking like Minecraft, of course.

The announcements came during the Minecraft LIVE: March 2025 presentation. The Spring to Life update was given a Tuesday, March 25 deployment date. A slew of additions is planned for this update, including some major updates to the game's classic mobs. Look for new warm and cold variants of mobs like the pig, cow, and chicken, as well as seasonal flavors of wildflowers, grass, and leaves. Plus, a new firefly bush can be found in swamp biomes by moving some firefly particles around. Would-be explorers can also get some help by flagging down new maps available for purchase from the world's cartographers.

Minecraft's second major update of 2025 has some additional features planned, but before that arrives, Mojang is planning something even bigger. Vibrant Visuals will give Minecraft a noticeable graphics upgrade. This won't change the overall aesthetic of the game, since Minecraft is always meant to be Minecraft. However, the overall visual presentation will be spruced up with new directional lighting, volumetric fog, and other superficial changes that won't affect gameplay in the slightest.

The second big Minecraft update for the year doesn't have an official name just yet, but there is a central feature that not only points to something exciting, but also looks to complement the upcoming Vibrant Visuals enhancements. The Dried Ghast is a new block that can be found in the Nether. Those who can drag these blocks back into the Overworld can then re-hydrate them into a new mob variant called Ghastlings. Ghastlings can then be raised into Happy Ghasts, which can be equipped with a Ghast Harness for riding purposes. Happy Ghasts can fly, allowing players to take to the skies for the first time and observe the Minecraft Overworld from above. Happy Ghasts are also big enough to fit multiple players, allowing groups of friends to go on a figurative magic carpet ride.

Mojang also hopes to keep smaller Minecraft updates coming regularly as part of a new initiative called Game Drops. Because of that, the team explained that it creates room for two Minecraft LIVE shows per year, hence this sudden March showcase. The other reason for the March showcase is that it's weeks away from the release of A Minecraft Movie. To celebrate, Minecraft will feature a special in-game event from March 25 to April 7 inspired by the movie with an exclusive cape cosmetic at stake.

Full details of Saturday's Minecraft LIVE: March 2025 showcase can be found on the Minecraft website. We'll continue watching for the latest in Minecraft, so keep it on Shacknews for any news on the next big updates.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?