As summer approaches, Minecraft enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating a new game update that promises a wealth of exciting additions including new items, blocks, mobs, and enhancements to the gameplay user interface. Mojang Studios has been on an impressive trajectory in 2025, consistently enriching the gaming experience, and fans can expect even more delightful changes in the upcoming update.
This article explores the confirmed items, mobs, and features set to arrive in the summer drop, with the possibility of additional content before the final release.
Exciting New Items and Blocks in Minecraft
The standout feature of the forthcoming summer update is the introduction of the dried ghast. Unlike the traditional flying ghast, this variant can be harvested like a normal block. Players will find dried ghasts within Nether fossils situated in soul sand valleys, or they can create one through bartering by combining soul sand with ghast tears.
Once placed in water, the dried ghast undergoes a fascinating transformation in three stages, showcasing various facial expressions before evolving into the ghastling and finally into the joyful happy ghast. To facilitate spawning, a happy ghast spawn egg has also been introduced.
The innovative happy ghast, which features the ability to fly, requires a specially crafted harness made from leather, glass, and wool. Players can choose from 16 unique color variants based on the wool used in its crafting.
A new music disc titled “Tears”will now drop when a ghast is slain by a player-deflected fireball, tying in with the existing “Return To Sender”advancement milestone.
Improvements to Existing Items
In addition to new items, several updates have enhanced existing features. Players can now attach multiple mobs using a lead, with an increased snapping distance of up to 12 blocks. Removal of leads is possible through the use of shears or dispensers equipped with shears.
Saddles will undergo significant changes; players can now craft them using a combination of three pieces of leather and one iron ingot. However, they cannot be removed from certain mobs, like ravagers or those that are currently ridden. Players crouching will also face limitations in removing saddles, and dispensers will be ineffective in this regard.
As part of the update, saddles will be excluded from numerous loot tables, making them less common in loot chests found in monster rooms, strongholds, and temples. This reduction encourages players to craft saddles as per their needs.
Shears have been upgraded to not only remove saddles but also other items like horse armor, harnesses, and carpets from mobs, with the same restrictions applying regarding ridden mobs and crouching players.
New Mobs and Gameplay Enhancements
The summer update will introduce two new mobs: the ghastling and the happy ghast. The latter, being the more engaging addition, is a friendly, rideable version of the classic ghast that can accommodate up to four players wearing a harness. In a delightful twist, happy ghasts will float toward players holding snowballs when unmounted.
Players can breed ghastlings from dried ghasts by placing them in water, nurturing them by feeding snowballs until they mature into happy ghasts.
Mojang Studios has enhanced the original ghast as well, giving it a refined high-resolution texture. Notably, it also drops the Tears music disc when it meets its end through a deflected fireball.
A new locator bar UI feature will assist players in identifying each other’s locations during multiplayer sessions. This feature alters the experience bar and provides directional indicators to highlight player positioning.
Visual Upgrades, New Music, and Command Features
A notable visual enhancement in the update is the Vibrant Visuals graphics upgrade. This superb addition brings forth pixel-perfect shadows, refined lighting, and improved water effects, albeit currently exclusive to Minecraft Bedrock Edition.
For Java Edition, players can look forward to an environmental fog effect that enhances the fog’s intensity over distances, particularly during adverse weather conditions such as rain and storms.
Additionally, three new commands will be available in Java Edition:
- /dialog
- /version
- /waypoint
In terms of audio, six new compositions by Amos Roddy have been introduced to the game:
- Lilypad – Sets the mood in frozen peaks and groves.
- Below and Above – Accompanies players in cherry groves.
- O’s Piano – Provides ambiance in lush caves.
- Broken Clocks – Enlivens forest exploration.
- Fireflies – Enriches the desert scenery.
- Tears – Plays when the Tears disc is used in a jukebox.
Further improvements include new settings for background music playback frequency, allowing players to customize it to their taste. The “Show Music Toast” setting will notify players when a new track begins, displaying both the song title and composer. Moreover, music will continue to play even during a game pause when offline.