Minecraft Pale Garden biome: everything we know about the upcoming update

Minecraft is due another update soon, and Minecraft Live 2024 gave us the first look at what to expect: two updates, actually, which Mojang has started referring to as "drops". A smaller drop called "Bundles and Bravery" seems to be coming first, while the slightly bigger "Pale Garden drop" is coming later with a new biome and a spooky mob. We've only had a brief look at what's coming in the next set of updates and we don't know when exactly each update is releasing either.

Since Mojang announced that it's moving to more frequent, smaller updates, that may be the majority of the feature list for this year, but we also expect a little more information to come out about what to expect the closer we get to launch. In the meantime here's everything we know about what to expect so far.  

Pale Garden drop

When does the Pale Garden drop release? 

We think the Pale Garden drop is coming before the end of 2024. It's been referred to as the "holiday update" which suggests we can expect to see it before the year is through, but there isn't a set release date. The same can be said for Bundles of Bravery which we talk about a bit further down. Both updates are still fairly new information, and there's a lot about them that we're yet to learn. We've got the basics, such as a few new additions to the game and what setting the biome will offer, but information as vital as a release date is yet to be shared.  

Is this version 1.22 of Minecraft? 

It's unclear whether the Pale Garden biome and/or Bundles of Bravery will be the 1.22 version of Minecraft. Both were announced separately at Minecraft Live 2024, and with no release date for either it's hard to say whether or not the two updates will even launch together. Minecraft updates big and small always come as a new game version, but we don't know yet if these new "drops" are going to conform to our old expectations of getting a new major version number to go with them. 

What is the Pale Garden biome?  

The pale garden is an entirely new biome being added to both Java and Bedrock Minecraft. It will add a new wood type, new new leaves, and moss types too. Going off the announcement trailer from Minecraft Live 2024, the Pale Garden looks like the saturation of a birch forest has been turned down. The whole place is totally gray. This biome has been designed with the intention of disorientating players, and as the developers describe in Minecraft Live, there's something eerily unfamiliar that we haven't experienced in any biomes before. 

As the name of the biome suggests, the wood the pale garden trees produce is white, very different from the yellowish tones of birch wood, which finally gives us a white block aside from quartz and wool. Pale oak can be used to craft all your standard wood-based products like doors, fences, and gates, all with the same whitish color. As for the pale oak leaves and moss, they are desaturated greens, and their use remains as much a mystery as the rest of the update. The biome is also designed to be hauntingly quiet and give you the feeling that something is watching your every move. 

The pale garden biome will also add creaking heart blocks, which act similarly to mob spawners from what we've seen. Creaking hearts look similar to a wood block, but a striking orange center stands out and is probably going to be our best bet in identifying them while exploring. When placed between two pale oak logs, the creaking heart will summon an entirely new mob for the update—the creaking.

New mobs for the Pale Garden biome 

The creaking is the newest haunting and hostile mob for Minecraft. It only spawns at night, so you can easily avoid it if you want. But you'll need to keep your eyes peeled if you're brave enough to go out hunting for it. The creaking is made of dark wood and blends into the shadows of the pale garden very easily. The only part of its design that makes it recognizable are its glowing yellow eyes, similar to the markings of gold ore. 

Since it's a hostile mob, you'll need to approach the creaking with caution. It does some serious damage judging by its announcement trailer, but you can't damage it normally like other mobs. Instead, the creaking relies on the creaking heart block as its creepy puppet master. Destroy the creaking heart and the creaking dies too. The creaking heart can only be collected when destroyed with a silk touch pickaxe, and will simply disappear when any other tools are used. Unusually, the creaking itself doesn't drop any item or experience when killed. Probably because it's not a sentient mob, it's just something controlled by another block. 

Bundles of Bravery drop

What is the Bundles of Bravery drop? 

The Pale Garden isn't the only thing we've got to look forward to either. As part of Bundles of Bravery drop, Bedrock players will now be able to enjoy the hardcore game mode rather than just survival. For those who have never faced the stress of a hardcore run, the game mode gives you one life. If you die, there's no way to respawn and you'll have to say goodbye to whatever world you've built for yourself. 

But as the title of the update implies, the most exciting part of the update is the addition of the in-game item—bundles. Bundles are like craftable backpacks that add additional storage spots to your inventory, allowing you to neaten up your pockets and keep collecting blocks. This is great if you don't embark on an adventure with chests ready to store your findings, which I've constantly fallen victim to. 

Bundles can be crafted in two ways depending on whether you're playing Java or Bedrock. For Bedrock players, all you need is a piece of leather and a piece of string, with the string going on top of the leather when crafting. For Java players, you can use this method, or use two pieces of string in the top corners of a crafting table, and fill every square except the middle with rabbit hide. Once you've created your bundle, you can also dye them any color you like. To do so, place the bundle and the dye of your choice next to each other when crafting. Utilizing different colors will make it even easier for you to sort your inventory and keep things neat and tidy. Gone are the days of frantically scanning to find the weapons you'd stashed away in favor of pickaxes and torches while you were mining.