Armadillo might release before Minecraft 1.21 update

Armadillo was one of the mobs officially announced for the Minecraft 1.21 update. It was one of the vote candidates, which took place before Mojang's live event in 2023. The mob received the most votes, beating crabs and penguins.

At the time, the developers announced that armadillo would be released in the 1.21 update. However, recent updates and snapshot cycles suggest otherwise.

There is a chance that the new mob and the wolf armor it brings might be released before the Minecraft 1.21 update.

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Why armadillo might be released before Minecraft 1.21 update

Armadillo is not under Minecraft 1.21 update experiments section

Even though the Minecraft 1.21 experiment toggle isn't active, players can find armadillos in a world (Image via Mojang)

The armadillo mob, their scutes, and wolf armor were recently added to Java Edition in snapshot 23w51b, a beta version of 1.20.5—the game's next incremental update. Players could easily download the snapshot and test all the upcoming features.

In the past few snapshots, Mojang has added Minecraft 1.21 update features under the experiments toggle, which needs to be turned on while creating a new world.

Interestingly, armadillos, which were supposed to be under the experimental features, are present in the snapshot 23w51b. So, even though players do not turn on 1.21 update features from the experiments tab, the new mob, their scutes, and the wolf armor can be found in a world.

Even though Mojang quickly fixed a few bugs in 23w51a and released 23w51b, they did not place armadillos under the experimental features.

Hence, this is a strong sign that the mob vote winner and its features might be released before the major 1.21 update. Since the snapshot is for 1.20.5, armadillos can be added.

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Armadillos tagged as 'new feature' in snapshot 23w51b's patch notes

The latest snapshot 23w51b patch notes show the armadillo as a new feature rather than an experimental one (Image via Mojang)

Another reason the adorable new mob might be added before the Minecraft 1.21 update can be found in the latest snapshot's patch notes. Usually, Mojang's patch notes have details about future major updates' features under an "Experiments" section.

The armadillo and all the details about it and the wolf armor were not placed under this section in the snapshot 23w51b patch notes. Instead, it was under "New Features," which lists every new addition to be released in the immediate update, whether incremental or major.

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Of course, all these are speculations, and there are still strong chances that Mojang won't release armadillo sooner than the Minecraft 1.21 update itself. However, there is a slight chance that they could release it sooner. Only time will tell whether the mob vote winner will reach players sooner or later.