Looking ahead to the next drop

Minecraft's roadmap for the back half of 2026 pairs a scenic new biome with a meaningful hardware upgrade. The Third Drop 2026, tracked as Java 26.3 and Bedrock 26.50, is targeted for a third-quarter window and had not yet released as of mid-July, so its feature list could still shift in snapshots.

The headline addition is a colorful woodland that expands the game's natural variety, revealed at Minecraft Live at TwitchCon Rotterdam.

What is coming

The planned drop and the Switch 2 release bring several notable additions:

The new Dappled Forest biome, a colorful woodland with poplar trees in burnished, autumnal hues.
New decorative options including red shrubs, shelf mushrooms, and wool stairs and slabs.
A new abandoned camp structure to discover.
A native Nintendo Switch 2 release of Bedrock Edition planned for later in 2026.
Unlike the original Switch version, the Switch 2 edition will include Vibrant Visuals support.

Why the Switch 2 version matters

The native Switch 2 release is the most consequential part of this roadmap for hardware-minded players. Vibrant Visuals, Minecraft's modern lighting and rendering overhaul, transforms how the game looks, and its absence on the original Switch was a real limitation. Bringing it to the Switch 2 means portable players finally get a version that visually matches what other platforms enjoy.

That upgrade dovetails with the Switch 2's strong first year, and it gives owners of Nintendo's new console another reason to double-dip on a game many already own elsewhere. A native release, rather than a compatibility layer, should also mean better performance and smoother play.

The Dappled Forest, meanwhile, continues Minecraft's pattern of enriching its world with distinctive biomes. The autumnal poplar woodland and its decorative additions like shelf mushrooms and wool stairs give builders fresh materials and a new setting to work with, and the abandoned camp structure adds a reason to explore it.

Because the Third Drop is still in a planning window, players should treat the exact date and feature list as provisional until snapshots and official confirmation arrive. But the combination of a new biome and a properly modernized Switch 2 version makes the second half of 2026 a compelling stretch for Minecraft fans across platforms.