Minecraft’s Winter Game Drop So Far: Ice Caves, the Frostbite and Everything in Snapshots 3 to 6

Minecraft’s next game drop is all about ice. Over four weekly Java snapshots in October, Mojang added a new Ice Caves biome, a frozen zombie called the Frostbite, a Freezing effect, brittle ice that cracks under your feet and two new sets of ice and snow building blocks. Mojang calls it “the final game drop of 2026” but has not given a release date in its testing posts.

We went through the official changelogs for Java Edition 26.4 Snapshots 3 to 6. Here is everything in the drop so far and how to try it before it launches.

What each snapshot added

Ice Caves, icicles and ice crystals

Ice Caves are a new cave biome that can generate under the colder biomes of the Overworld. They are made mostly of Packed Ice and Calcite, with icicles hanging from the ceiling, large icicles of Packed Ice on the ground and ceiling, and the odd patch of snow. Ores sit in pockets of Stone and Deepslate, and Glow Lichen does not generate here.

Two new blocks decorate them. Ice Crystals work like Amethyst Clusters: they give off light, can be placed in any direction and break if the block holding them is removed. Icicles behave like Dripstone. Mojang’s overview warns that they are fragile, so watch where you knock them down.

The Frostbite and the Freezing effect

The Frostbite is a zombie variant that spawns in cold and icy biomes, and Strays and Frostbites can both spawn in Ice Caves. According to the Snapshot 3 notes, it:

• switches between melee and ranged attacks depending on how far away you are and whether it has Ice Balls;
• applies Freezing with melee hits and throws Ice Balls from range, each dealing up to 4 damage with knockback;
• is immune to freezing, can stand on Powder Snow and is not slowed by it;
• drops Rotten Flesh and Ice Balls, and turns into a regular Zombie if it stays underwater long enough.

Zombies and Husks also turn into Frostbites when they sit in Powder Snow. The Freezing effect makes players shake and slowly freeze, as if standing in Powder Snow, and eventually deals damage. Leather armor protects you from the freezing damage but does not stop or remove the effect. Ice Balls can be brewed into Potions, Splash Potions and Lingering Potions of Freezing, and a Lingering Potion surrounded by eight arrows makes Arrows of Freezing. Mobs that are vulnerable to freezing take five times the damage from it.

Brittle ice, crevasses and jukebox playlists

Brittle Ice is the trap block of this drop. Once a player or mob steps on it, it starts to crack and eventually breaks, though the Frostbite can walk across it safely. In the wild it only appears in Ice Caves as part of crevasses, which Mojang describes as frosty ravines leading down into the caves. You can mine it with Silk Touch or make it yourself: water flowing onto a Blue Ice block turns into Brittle Ice.

Snapshot 4 also added Jukebox Playlists, which have nothing to do with ice. Put a chest, trapped chest or copper chest directly on top of a jukebox and it plays the music discs inside in slot order, skipping empty slots and looping back to the start.

New ice and snow building blocks

• Packed Ice Bricks (Snapshot 5): crafted from 2×2 Packed Ice, with slab, stair, wall and chiseled versions. They can also be made in a Stonecutter.
• Snow Bricks (Snapshot 6): crafted from 2×2 Snow Blocks, with slab, stair and wall versions. They cannot be made in a Stonecutter and only drop when mined with a shovel.

Snapshot 6 also added the Cold Sulfur Cube. When a Sulfur Cube absorbs a Blue Ice block, it floats and turns the water under it into Frosted Ice as it moves, much like the Frost Walker enchantment. Ice blocks and Ice Crystals now play ambient sounds in the right spots, and a new advancement, “What Goes Around Comes Around,” rewards killing a Frostbite with an Ice Ball.

How to try it now

On Java Edition, open the Minecraft Launcher, go to the Installations tab and turn on snapshots. On Bedrock Edition, the same features are in the Preview on Xbox, Windows and iOS and in the Beta on Android, according to Mojang.

Mojang warns that testing versions can corrupt your world, so back it up or use a separate folder before you jump in. Feedback goes to feedback.minecraft.net, and bugs can be reported on Mojang’s bug tracker.