Minecraft 1.16.5 Release Candidate 1 is out

Minecraft is about to get a teeny, tiny new update with 1.16.5, which just got a release candidate for final testing before release. The update only includes a few tech fixes to address server crashes, but Mojang has confirmed something much more exciting here: the next Caves and Cliffs snapshot is due to launch next week.

Minecraft 1.16.5 Release Candidate 1 is now available for testing, and if no notable issues are discovered, it will go live on Friday, January 15. There are two bug fixes in this update, both of which address server crash issues, but the devs are keeping the details quiet for security reasons. (If you’re already testing the 1.17 Caves and Cliffs snapshot, be aware that attempting to roll back to this one will corrupt your save.)

“We hope to release another Caves and Cliffs snapshot next week,” the devs add on Reddit. Each new snapshot introduces one or more new features that’ll be included in the final update – the most recent, for example, introduced the Minecraft axolotl.

The proper Minecraft 1.17 release date is currently slated for some point in summer 2021 across both Bedrock and Java Editions.