Dappled Forest — a new autumn biome for Minecraft

Dappled Forest — a new autumn biome for Minecraft

At Minecraft Live — TwitchCon, May 2026, Mojang studio revealed the new Dappled Forest biome, which will become the central feature of the third Minecraft game update in 2026. Along with the biome, trees with three leaf color variants, a new Abandoned Camp structure, and wool stairs and slabs in all 16 colors will be added to the game.

What happened

The presentation took place on May 30, 2026, on the TwitchCon stage in Rotterdam. This is a bonus episode of Minecraft Live, which Mojang announced on May 12 — a separate stream between the scheduled March and September broadcasts. Besides the Dappled Forest trailer, the event confirmed the release date of the previous Chaos Cubed update — June 16, 2026, showcased the Twisted Warden mob for Minecraft Dungeons II, and announced the sequel to the feature film — A Minecraft Movie: Squared (premiere scheduled for July 23, 2027).

The third game drop of 2026 does not have an official name at the time of the announcement. Mojang positions the update as one focused on "exploration, adventure, and playing together with friends," and immediately warns: work on the content is in a very early stage. Public snapshots with the new biome will start in the summer of 2026, with a release expected in the third quarter.

Details

Dappled Forest Biome

A forest biome in warm autumn shades that will generate in the cold regions of the Overworld. Patches of coarse dirt, leaf litter, brown mushrooms, and fallen logs are scattered on the surface. Occasionally, single spruces can be found among the poplars. The biome's atmosphere uses separate cold settings for Vibrant Visuals — denser volumetric fog and a gray-green palette. The developers specifically noted that these parameters may change before release.

New forest biome with new trees 

Cold variants of passive mobs, rabbits, and foxes will spawn within the biome — while the behavioral hostile mobs of the night cycle remain standard.

Poplars (Poplar)

A new tree with a grayish-brown trunk and leaves in one of three colors — red, orange, or yellow. Fallen poplar logs generate more frequently than similar elements in other forest biomes. Shelf mushrooms grow on these logs — a new decorative plant in two sizes that bounces if you jump on it from above.

Poplar wood will become the 12th complete wood set in the game — in addition to the already existing oak, spruce, birch, jungle, acacia, and others. The set includes standard variants: planks, slabs, stairs, fences, doors, trapdoors, pressure plates, signs, and a boat.

Red Shrub (Red Shrub)

A decorative shrub plant. Feature: unlike standard shrubs, which change color depending on the biome, the red shrub maintains the same rich red color anywhere in the world where it is placed.

Abandoned Camp

A new structure generated only within the Dappled Forest. According to the footage shown, the camp consists of a tent built from wool stairs, and inside there is a crafting table, a copper lantern, and several chests or barrels. The floor is made of dirt, gravel, and dirt path blocks. Next to the tent is an unlit campfire and a separate loot chest. In some generation variants, cobwebs and oak leaves replace the wool stairs — visually emphasizing the abandoned look of the camp.

As Mojang put it, the purpose of the new structure is to "plant the seeds of storytelling," giving players reasons to ponder its unknown inhabitants. The exact loot composition from the chests and barrels has not yet been announced.

New Abandoned Camp structure

Wool stairs and slabs

Stairs and slabs will finally be added to the wool set — 16 colors in each form, just like the wool itself. Stairs are already used in the announced Abandoned Camp as tent roofs.

Context

Dappled Forest is the third new biome of 2026 for Minecraft, following the Tiny Takeover and Chaos Cubed updates. Mojang continues its course of quarterly game updates, each featuring a standalone biome, structure, or mechanic.

The inspiration for the Dappled Forest comes from the real autumn forests of Michigan (USA), where one of Mojang's artists grew up, as well as the forests of Sweden. Unlike previous biomes, the focus of the new one is on a cozy landscape, building blocks, and exploring the Abandoned Camp structure, without new enemies or rare resources.

What we can expect is the start of public snapshots of the Dappled Forest in the summer cycle of 2026. Until then, all shown biome elements, block composition, and Abandoned Camp structure details are subject to change: Mojang explicitly stated that the feature set is still being refined, and the official name of the update will be announced later.