Minecraft Update 1.17 Delayed: Caves and Cliffs Release Date Split In Two


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Minecraft developer Mojang has today announced that the Caves and Cliffs update that was slated for this year will be split into two separate updates with separate release dates.

The first part of the update will arrive in Summer, while the second part is expected to launch "around the holiday season", the developer explained in a new blog post.

Minecraft Update 1.17 Delayed: Caves and Cliffs Release Date Split In Two

According to an accompanying video announcement, the decision was made for quality and technical reasons, as well as for the health of the development team.

The blog explains that "including all the Caves & Cliffs features in the summer update would have meant compromising on quality."

The update is also built on revamped world generation, and this caused some issues for the development team.

"With this feature [world generation], we are completely reshaping the Overworld, including the build height."

"Not only do we have to consider every effect this can have on the world but also how it will affect performance. Basically, having more stuff in the game also slows it down and we want to avoid that."

Finally, the blog explains the impact of the ongoing pandemic on the team at Mojang.

"We’ve come to realize that to ship all the features in the summer we would’ve had to work very long hours; and even then, there would’ve been no guarantee that everything would be finished on time."

"Lastly, working from home as we cope with the pandemic is still challenging – not just in terms of morale but also by hindering teamwork."

The Caves and Cliffs update was revealed at Minecraft Live 2020, and is likely the biggest update Minecraft has seen in some time.

Find out more about the expected features here.

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