This Minecraft special looks at the 91 new blocks coming in the 'Caves and Cliffs Update'

What you need to know

• The 'Caves and Cliffs Update' is one of the biggest updates ever for Minecraft, and it's coming in two parts later this year.
• The first half of the 'Caves and Cliffs Update' is more boring on paper, but a new Minecraft special shows why you should still be excited.
• Minecraft is gaining up to 91 new blocks in the upcoming update, including powder snow, deepslate, new raw ore, copper, and more.
• The first half of the 'Caves and Cliffs Update' is expected to arrive at some point this summer.

Minecraft has a big year ahead of it, with not one but two major updates planned for release later this year. The Caves and Cliffs Update is now releasing in two separate parts in 2021, and many players have lamented the "disappointing" size of the first half. A new Minecraft special YouTube series is kicking off today with a video on the 91 new blocks heading to Minecraft with the first part of the Caves and Cliffs Update, and gives several reasons why Minecraft players should still be ecstatic about this release.

This special is all about blocks, and provides a closer look at a few of the new additions coming in the Caves and Cliffs Update. This includes blocks like powder snow, which create deceivingly innocent traps at the top of mountains; dripleaf, which provides temporary jumping platforms; deepslate, which can only be found in the lowest parts of the world; lush cave blocks, which add a ton of new life and foliage to Minecraft; and there's so much more not even mentioned here.

One of the more exciting changes happening in Minecraft with the Caves and Cliffs Update is a change to ore textures and the addition of raw ore items. Minecraft is updating their ore textures to make them more visually distinct without relying on colors, an important change that Microsoft addressed during their Global Accessibility Awareness Day celebration. Raw ore also makes Minecraft more consistent by making it so that iron, gold, and copper drop raw ore items that need to be smelted instead of entire blocks.

If you're excited about the Caves and Cliffs Update, it's well worth watching the first Minecraft special detailing some of the new blocks. We still have a while to wait before we actually get the Caves and Cliffs Update for Minecraft, but you can bide your time by checking out our list of best merch, toys, and gifts for Minecraft.