Categories: Switch

Minecraft Adding New Pig Variants, Ambient Effects, And More In Upcoming Update

Mojang has begun testing features for the next update coming to Minecraft.

As detailed on their official site, the first update of 2025 will include a number of new features which they are testing on PC. This includes two new varieties of pigs, various ambient effects such as falling leaves, as well as a new lodestone recipe.

You can read the full details about the additions below:

Two new pig variations

Pigs have been trotting the Overworld for 15 years – and now they’re evolving! That means we’re adding in two more pig variations: the cold pig and the warm pig. Coated in fluffy fur, the cold pig thrives in the sub-zero temperatures of chillier biomes. The warm pig is rust-brown and can be found roaming the dunes of the sandy biomes.

Ambient features

Forest biomes will feel even more alive thanks to tree three new ambient features: falling leaves, leaf litter, and wildflowers.

On your next expeditions into forests, dark forests, and wooded badlands, listen out for the crunch of leaves underfoot. Leaf litter makes a rustling sound when you walk through it and can be used to decorate other blocks. In meadows, birch forests, and old growth birch forests, you will instead find wildflowers. These yellow and white flowers can be crafted into dye and have four growth stages that speed up with bonemeal. Place them at different angles to have your builds bloom in different patterns!

On top of that, all the trees in the Overworld will also have matching leaf particles falling from them.

Lodestone recipe update

As team captain of “Hang on, which way was my base again?”, I’m happy (but mostly relieved, really) to announce that the lodestone is getting a new, simpler recipe! Now, you’ll only need to combine an iron ingot with your chiseled bricks to craft a lodestone. By placing this block in your base – or that hilltop with all the fluffy cold pigs – you will always find your way back with a compass. So what are you waiting for? Craft a lodestone, then head out into the Overworld to explore all the new features coming into testing!