Why does the Minecraft 1.20 update have no official name?

Minecraft 1.20 is the next major entry in what is a long list for the game. It is the successor to The Wild Update that was released in June, and is set to bring a decent amount of new content into the game. With a planned release window of 2023, Mojang studios have given themselves enough time to polish and perfect the update.

Minecraft 1.20 was officially unveiled during the 2022 Minecraft Live livestream. The game’s vanilla game director, Agnes “LadyAgnes” Larsson, spoke in detail about some of the features that were almost fully developed.

While more than five changes were shown, others were left out as Mojang decided not to showcase material that hadn't reached a certain stage in the development cycle.

One of the biggest surprises that came during the reveal was the fact that the new update was unnamed. This development left many players disappointed, while others were indifferent, and some even supportive.

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Minecraft 1.20 update doesn't get a name, leaves community divided

The fact that v1.20 is yet to be named had players questioning what Mojang plans for it. What makes the name so important is that it defines what the update is about.

For example, the 1.16 Nether Update was about changes within the Nether dimension, while the 1.17 and 1.18 updates, which were together named the Caves and Cliffs update, were literally about the new features and tweaks that affected the game’s caves and mountains.

Not revealing the name of the 1.20 update has left players in the dark as to the general theme of features. The primary reason for this, according to Agnes Larsson, is that Mojang is simply not ready to do it right now.

LadyAgnes mentioned a key fact during the stream, where she said that Minecraft is a game that is "community-fueled." This is why they’ve revealed only a small number of features for this update, and want to continue the development process alongside the community.

Another reason is the fact that Mojang has struggled to keep up with the content they have announced to their audience in the past. Since many features for Minecraft 1.20 remain unannounced as of yet, it wouldn’t be prudent to come up with a name that describes them before their actual release.

While both parts of the Caves and Cliffs update were loved by every fan, features like the Warden mob were delayed after multiple announcements that were released with the update. The fact that the it had to be divided into two parts was an indicator that Mojang, in all seriousness, had bitten off more than they could chew.

In addition to this, previously confirmed features like fireflies and archeology were removed from both updates, and postponed for release on an undecided date later. Both features were highly anticipated and showed promise, while archeology was to be the jewel of the update since it would have brought a ton of new content and a new mechanic.

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Reactions to the 1.20 update currently being unnamed

Many players were supportive towards Mojang for their decision not to name the update yet. While some pointed out how hard the team was working with the community to ensure that the 1.20 update would not face any delays, others appreciated the element of mystery the move has brought.