Are Themed Updates Holding Minecraft Back?

Themed updates. Are they helping or hurting Minecraft at this point? Is it time for Mojang to give us a general update or another "bits and pieces" update?

With a single exception, every update since 1.4 has had a central theme. The majority of features in the update have, in some way, related to the central theme. A few updates have had multiple, or "hidden" themes. For example, 1.9's "Combat Update" also featured a large revamp of the End, and 1.10 focused on both "hot" and "cold" features. 1.12 was a huge accessibility update masquerading as the colour update. And of course, 1.13 was literally two updates that were merged into one. But really, with the exception of 1.8, every update has had the majority of the features centre around its main theme.

But is it time to retire the themed updates?

Some Aspects of the Game Are Left Lacking in Updates For a LONG Time!

This may be a rant for another time, but as the game is soon to enter its 13th year of existence, signs of ageing are really starting to show. Certain features have been very much neglected, and these neglected features have age that is REALLY starting to show. The list of aspects in Minecraft that I can think of that are in desperate need of an update is quite expansive. But let's consider pets for a second. Cats had an update as recently as 1.14. But the tamed wolf. Oh my god the tamed wolf. There is ONE "dog". No breeds. No specialities. Nothing. This 2011 concept is SERIOUSLY dated. The late-2018 mob, the Panda, literally has GENETICS. It is clear the dog is in DESPERATE need of an update. Why haven't dogs/tamed wolves ever been updated? Because no update theme has covered pets. Due to all the themes of the updates, complex dog breeding has never fitted in any theme. Clearly in 1.14, there was only time to improve on one pet, and they went for Cats. But remember: it took till late 2018 for Minecraft to even have a separate Cat mob.

Pets are seriously lacking in content. Aside from fancy dog breeding mechanics, where is the dog armour? Where is the dog bed? These probably won't be coming until the designated "Pet Update" of 20godknows. The same can be said for Farming. It's not really changed since 2010, but we will have to wait for a Farming Update.

The themed updates could also be partly to blame for it taking over a decade to get a caving/mining update in a game called MINEcraft. Why the Nether took almost 10 years of half-bakedness before being finally updated. And parts of the game, such as pets and farming, that have not received an update in years, start to lag behind and feel incredibly dated. Heck, even the Wither fight is starting to show its age (on Java Edition).

One Aspect Gets All The Love.... for a YEAR!?!

Don't get me wrong, the themed updates HAVE done a world of good - to the part of the game they're addressing, anyway. Think 1.13 - turning the most boring and lifeless part of the world into one of the most diverse and exciting. 

But here's the thing: 1.13 took over a YEAR to be finished. This meant other areas of the game, such as the Nether and the Underground, had to go untouched for all that time as a whole bunch of content was poured into the oceans. 1.14, 1.16 and 1.17 are all the same. These updates took many many months to come, close to a year in some cases. 1.17 is likely going to take more than a year when it's released. These updates being themed have certainly meant they were amazing for the part of the game they were updating - Villages, the Nether, and the Underground respectively. But to get from 1.13 to now has been more than THREE YEARS. This is why people were BEGGING for the cave update for so long - and why people were so disappointed every time it was announced the next update would not be the cave update - this meant caves would not be updated for at least another YEAR.

And when so much content is poured into one part of the game, we end up in a situation where that part of the game is now almost TOO detailed in comparison to the rest of the game. After 1.13, the oceans almost had a disproportionately LARGE amount of content - after years and years of having far too little. Next to 1.13's oceans, the Nether was nothing short of a pity. At least, in the year and a half it took before it was finally the Nether's turn to get its major update.

Once And Done. Forever.

There is another problem with the themed updates. Aside from Combat, each theme is only explored once, ever. Since 1.5 in early 2013 - EIGHT YEARS AGO NOW - there has not been another designated Redstone update. Redstone features may have trickled in here and there over the years - but ultimately, Redstone is now feeling like it is in desperate need of an update. But as redstone got its major update, it's not seen another designated update in over 8 years. I don't see Mojang ever doing a "Redstone Update II". This problem has actually become very apparent in 1.17. Many vocal members of the community have expressed their disappointment at the fact there are only 3 new biomes in the underground. I have seen a LOT of people harassing the devs about this (seriously, don't harass the devs about this or anything else.... rewriting the underground is a LOT of work....). Although I think they are being a bit brattish, I can see why they are concerned. After 1.17, there likely won't be another underground update for years and years to come. As such, there could be no new underground biomes for years and years. If we had the reassurance that more underground biomes could be underway in soon(ish) update, maybe people would be less upset at there only being 3. But because people feel 1.17 is likely the only cave update for years and years, 3 is all we'll ever get.

Themed Updates: Yay or Nay?

As you may have inferred from reading to this point, I do feel the themed updates are causing quite a few issues. I do honestly think the themed updates are holding the game back a bit at this point, and it might be time to do away with them for the time being. After all, with one exception, every update since Halloween 2012 has been themed. I get that Mojang would like to have the security and guidance of a theme rather than scattered features, and that themes also make the updates more marketable, but when there are so many aspects of the game that have been left untouched and seriously dated for so many years, it may be time to reconsider.

But. This is not to say I think the themed updates were always holding the game back. 

Minecraft updates didn't always take close to, or more than, a year. In fact, before 2014, updates released fairly regularly, every four months or so. This means we had several themed updates that were only actually in development for a few months at a time. The scary update; the redstone update; the horse update and the terrain update. As each of these updates were in development for only a short while, no theme overstayed its welcome. If the theme of this update didn't appeal to a certain player, they would soon be appeased.

1.5's redstone theme appealed to a rather niche facet of the community, but people weren't too fussed as we knew 1.6 would shortly be coming. If you weren't a fan of horses, don't fear, 1.7 would be coming shortly. But nowadays, for example, if you were not really interested in the Nether, you would have had to have waited close to a year before they finished with the Nether. And if you're waiting on pets or farming, the sky or the End, the jungle or desert temple updates.... covid will probably be under control by the time the themes allow for these things to finally get updated. Heck, who knows, we might even see the losing biomes of 2018 and 2019's votes before then!

I truly feel sorry for anyone who wasn't into combat or the End in the YEAR AND A HALF 1.9 took to develop. I can see why a lot of people lost interest in Minecraft in 2015. It was a DARK year in Minecraft's history. But I digress.

The Update That Didn't Play By the Rules

Finally, I want to discuss the one update since 1.4 that didn't have a theme: 1.8. This update really had a bit of everything - something to appeal to just about every facet of the Minecraft fandom. It added a few cool new redstone blocks and mechanics, LOADS of commands for mapmakers, a new temple for survival players, a new tameable mob, and even some of the very few changes to the UNDERGROUND that happened pre-1.17. Really, this update had a bit of everything for everyone. As someone who primarily plays survival, the Ocean Monument was an absolute JOY when it first came out - to the point I regard its premier snapshot, 14w25a, as one of my all-time favourites. But alas, even the Monument is a bit dated now because there hasn't been a structure update yet.

I made a post on the suggestions subreddit about having another update like 1.8, which just updated parts of the game that hadn't received updates for a long time - another "bit of everything" update. And people LOVED the idea.... at least before the mods obliterated the post on grounds of it being a "wishlist". At the time, 1.8 received some criticism for NOT having a theme and just adding fluff. But 1.8 was SEVEN YEARS AGO now. I think, nowadays, a lot of people, myself included, are ready for another themeless update.