Minecraft Armored Paws update might be a turning point for future updates

Minecraft 1.20.80, known as the Armored Paws update, was released for Bedrock Edition on April 23, 2024. While the addition of armadillos, new wolf variants, and wolf armor is a welcome one, the larger symbolism of the patch may signal the future of how Mojang handles content updates. This is due to the fact that the update is named despite not being a major one, as well as the armadillo's inclusion.

Before the arrival of Minecraft 1.20.80 (still technically an extension of the Trails & Tales major update), naming a minor update was effectively unheard of.

Meanwhile, while many players assumed that the armadillo would be released in the major 1.21 update after its Mob Vote 2023 victory (which other vote winners had followed), it debuted ahead of the 1.21 update, which is atypical for Mojang.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the opinions of the writer

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Could Minecraft's Armored Paws update be a sign of the future of Mojang's release strategy?

Minecraft's Armored Paws update may signify a shift in Mojang's future updates (Image via Mojang)

While Minecraft players may be busier with Armored Paws' content, the update made some unusual changes that many haven't seen before.

A named minor update is an extreme rarity, as these are usually reserved for major updates like Caves & Cliffs, The Wild Update, Trails & Tales, etc. This may imply that future minor updates may receive titles if their content is considered worthy of a name and a little hype.

There's also the matter of the armadillo. Whereas most Mob Vote winners were implemented in the next major content update following their victory, the armadillo has arrived in the vanilla game at least a few months ahead of the 1.21 update's release date. While the reasoning for this is unknown, it may indicate that future Mob Vote winners won't simply be tethered to major content updates.

Though none of this is a certainty, it would signify a shift in Mojang's content release policy over the last few years if it proved true. Adding more content and official titles to minor updates would likely be a great way to keep fans engaged and make the wait for the next major one easier. The 1.21 update may still be a while away, but Armored Paws makes the wait more enjoyable.

The early arrival of armadillos as perceived by fans could indicate that later Minecraft Mob Vote winners might follow suit (Image via Mojang)

It's likely that Minecraft fans would welcome a more widespread distribution of content over the calendar year from Mojang. While Java snapshots and Bedrock previews meet this need to a degree, having new features and content introduced in vanilla ahead of each year's major content release gives players more to enjoy and experiment with in the lead-up to Mojang's marquee updates each year.