Minecraft

Now that the Tricky Trials have finally arrived in Minecraft as part of its 1.21 update, the newly added content and features could offer insight into what Mojang has in store for its next 1.22 update. Given how far Minecraft‘s updates have gone over the years in adding increasingly bigger and bolder ideas to the base game, it was inevitable that shortly after the release of the Tricky Trials update attention would turn to what would come next. But between the latest additions in Tricky Trials and the history of previous updates, it might be possible to predict what Mojang is planning for Minecraft‘s 1.22 version.

When Minecraft celebrated its tenth anniversary since its official release, the following updates it received played a significant role in expanding the game by either adding or overhauling multiple biomes, mobs, and blocks. Notable updates like this include 1.13’s Village & Pillage and 1.15’s Nether Update, leading fans to theorize about potential patterns where seemingly small Minecraft updates are followed by larger, more ambitious overhauls. With Mojang commemorating Minecraft‘s fifteenth anniversary in 2024, its next 1.22 update will build upon and go even further than the recent Tricky Trials update.

Minecraft’s Tricky Trials Seems Smaller Than Previous Updates

As part of Minecraft‘s Tricky Trials 1.21 version, Mojang has added various new mobs, items, and more, though many of these have been in service to the update’s central Trial Chamber structure. However, between a focus on multiplayer combat through new weapons, potions, and enchantments, and further cosmetic improvements with materials like copper and tuff, the latest update seems comparatively smaller than those previous. For instance, while the Nether Update added four biomes, Netherite equipment surpassing diamond, and multiple mobs, structures, and blocks, Tricky Trials only added one structure, two mobs, and somehow overlooked Minecraft‘s potential to use copper for gear despite the metal’s new blocks.

Minecraft’s Tricky Trials Could Be Setting Up the 1.22 Update

For Tricky Trials to be released during 2024, the full scope of the 1.21 update seems to fall short of celebrating Minecraft‘s fifteenth anniversary in a big way, especially when other recent updates like 1.18’s Caves & Cliffs Part 2 took world generation to new heights and 1.19’s The Wild introduced the Warden as its strongest mob. But similar to Minecraft 1.18’s expanded cave depths intensified the threat of 1.19’s Deep Dark sculk-infested biome and the Warden, Tricky Trials could be a prelude to the next update. Therefore, the new content added in Minecraft‘s 1.21 version may be a setup for its 1.22 update.

Tricky Trials’ Focus on Player Co-Op, Combat, and Trials Could Point to Minecraft’s Next Update

Depending on the scale of the update, Mojang seems to aim for at least one major update a year, which might mean that players will have to wait until 2025 for Minecraft‘s 1.22 update. However, there have been exceptions where several updates are released in one year, such as the two Cave & Cliffs updates in 2019, so there is a chance that Mojang will keep the momentum of Minecraft‘s Tricky Trials with its 1.22 update. Now that players are familiar with Minecraft‘s new Tricky Trials features, its next update could expand elements from the update with:

• Biome-specific Trial Chambers, such as in the Deep Dark or the Nether.
• New special weapons like the Mace as rewards from Vaults.
• Player-versus-player options for certain Trial Chambers.
• New hostile mobs to add even more combat variety in Trial Chambers.

While Tricky Trials has introduced new content that even single-players can enjoy, Mojang seemed keen to stress during its announcements before the update’s release that these new Trial Chamber structures were designed for a multiplayer experience. Arguably, this latest update has been the most explicit about encouraging multiplayer gameplay in Minecraft, which could mean that Tricky Trials’ focus on combat and co-op has been a warm-up for its major update to go even further. But given that combat isn’t a defining part of the game, Minecraft‘s next update could also refocus on traditional features and player co-op while pulling back from Tricky Trials’ multiplayer combat.

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