Minecraft 1.20 Trails & Tales update expected release date and time

Minecraft 1.20's release date remains ambiguous, as Mojang only confirmed that it would be made available to the community by the end of Spring 2023. However, considering multiple factors, such as the update's four pre-releases already being available for download, the release date for the Trails & Tails update can't be far away, and players may only need to wait a few more weeks.

Typically, a major Minecraft update debuts roughly two to three weeks after its first pre-release goes live. Considering that the 1.20 Pre-Release 1 was released on May 10, 2023, players may see Trails & Tales arrive anywhere from late May to early June.

Any official release date announcements for Minecraft 1.20 still haven't arrived, but multiple factors seem to point to the fact that the Trails & Tales update's debut isn't far away.

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Why might Minecraft's 1.20 update appear in late May or early June?

Despite Mojang's apparent reluctance to announce the full release date of the 1.20 update, most of Trails & Tales' development appears to have been finished. Mojang has already worked through the update's various snapshots and has pivoted from adding features to fixing bugs and making small gameplay tweaks for both Minecraft's Java and Bedrock Editions. If update 1.20 had a release date that was further away, it would stand to reason that Mojang would still be adding content and features instead of fixing minutiae.

Additionally, the presumptive fourth and final Pre-Release for update 1.20 was released on May 19, 2023. When the Pre-Release phase is completed for a Minecraft update, Mojang tends to begin the development of release candidates that immediately precede the full update's release.

Since Pre-Release 4 is in the rearview mirror at this point, it may be a matter of days before the release candidates debut, which should be followed by the full Trails & Tales unveiling in a very short time frame if Mojang sticks to the development cycle they have used in the past.

Like many updates before it, Minecraft 1.20 would likely arrive on all platforms on its release day between 8 am and 12 pm, depending on a player's time zone. Obviously, obstacles may appear for Mojang between now and Trails & Tales' arrival that may push the update back a bit, but so far, there has been no indication of the sort.

Furthermore, Mojang may very well decide to release the update and apply any last-minute fixes in quick sequential patches that arrive afterward to address any unexpected complications or bugs that weren't caught during the snapshot/preview process.

For the time being, fans will have to continue keeping an eye on official announcements from Mojang. Speculation is one thing, but the word of the developer is a much more concrete indicator than any patterns found in Mojang's development process and timing windows. Hopefully, the late May or early June release date is on the mark, as waiting much longer would technically push the update into the Summer, which is later than Mojang initially promised to bring it to the player base.