Almost two years after its preliminary delay, Minecraft’s long-awaited archeology characteristic is lastly on the horizon, with developer Mojang now confirming it’s going to be arriving as a part of the sport’s 1.20 replace later this 12 months.
Archeology was initially introduced throughout 2020’s Minecraft Reside, and was deliberate to launch as a part of the sport’s expansive Caves & Cliffs replace the next summer time. Nonetheless, as its launch date neared, Mojang – because it grappled with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic – introduced it had made the choice to cut up Caves & Cliffs’ characteristic record into two, with a second launch due earlier than the tip of the 12 months. Archeology, although, had been decoupled from even that and would arrive at an unspecified future level.
Skip forward virtually two years and we’re again to right now, and the announcement that archeology will lastly debut with Minecraft’s subsequent main replace.
Initially, budding Minecraft archeologists will need to head into the desert and dig close to temples to uncover unique wonders, however Mojang notes it plans so as to add additional dig websites because it iterates on the characteristic. Whereas digging, gamers ought to preserve an eye fixed out for suspicious sand blocks which, as soon as found, have to be given a fragile tickle with the brand new brush device.
With sufficient brushing, the suspicious sand will reveal its secrets and techniques, be they random objects or pottery shards. The latter could be assembled into a whole pot as soon as 4 shards have been collected – however gamers might want to preserve a detailed eye on their patterns to verify they’ve an identical set. “There are completely different patterns that inform distinctive tales and make for very ornamental accents in your builds,” Mojang explains.

Mojang says it’s going to be revealing Minecraft 1.20’s remaining options over time – and whereas it does not have an ETA but past a imprecise “2023”, people who need to dig in early can achieve this as quickly as its related snapshots, betas, and previews begin to launch, as defined right here.