10 official Minecraft concept ideas that didn't make it to the game

One of the most interesting parts of Minecraft is its long and storied development history. There have been hundreds of new items, blocks, and features added to the sandbox title over the last 15 years, giving it just as many hours of replay value. However, not every idea that Mojang has come up with has made it into the full game.

Listed below are 10 of the best and most interesting concepts that Mojang has failed to add to the game, including what made these potential additions so compelling.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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10 Minecraft ideas that haven't made it to the base game

1) Mob vote losers

Some of the mob vote losers (Image via Mojang)

Mob votes are by far the most controversial aspect of Minecraft. Intended to be a way for fans to help guide development, these yearly votes normally pit three potential mobs against each other, with the winner getting added to the game. Mojang has said that the losers might eventually get added to the title, but that has barely happened, leaving all kinds of fascinating potential mobs lost to time.

Here's a full list of the lost mobs:

• The Great Hunger
• The Hovering Inferno
• The Monster of the Ocean Depths
• Mooblooms
• Iceologers
• Glares
• Copper Golems
• Rascals
• Tuff Golems
• Crabs
• Penguins

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2) The sky dimension

A preview image of the sky dimension (Image via Mojang)

The concept of a sky dimension to mirror Minecraft's Nether is one of the oldest around. The origin of the idea dates back all the way to 2011 and has been thoroughly explored in mods like Aether. However, this dimension has never been fully implemented into the game. Worlds have gotten progressively taller over the years, so Mojang may eventually add this as a fourth dimension.

It would be interesting to see if Mojang would take inspiration from things like Minecraft's Aether mod, or if they would instead attempt to put an entirely originally spin on such a dimension.

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3) Red dragons

There are few mobs as iconic as Minecraft's ender dragon, the final boss of the game. This makes the fact that Mojang was originally going to introduce weaker red dragons to the Overworld quite interesting. These creatures would be able to land (while the ender dragon can't) and wouldn't be able to destroy blocks.

It's unknown when, or if, Mojang will ever revisit this idea, much to the dismay of fans everywhere.

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4) Uncraftable loot

While armor, tools, and weapons can be found as loot in many different Minecraft structures, there's not much that's unique about these items. They aren't made of special materials, and they don't have unique enchantments.

However, this was almost not the case, as back in 2014, Mojang developer Dinnerbone hinted that the company wanted to add unique items that couldn't normally be crafted to the game.

This would also help encourage exploration, as players could find unique, potentially more powerful than normally possible, items while out and about. It would also give players a reason to care about structures after getting god-tier gear. Hopefully, Mojang will one day return to this concept for future updates.

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5) Combat changes (java combat snapshots and revamped combat

One of Minecraft's most controversial updates was the 1.9 Combat Update. This version of the game totally changed how combat worked in Java Edition, much to the anger of the community. There are still servers on 1.8 due to this update.

Mojang had been working on new combat updates on the side, but it's been several years since any have come out, leaving the future of PvP uncertain.

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6) Sculk jaws

The texture of the sculk jaw (Images via Mojang)

Sculk jaws are one of the more recent abandoned features. They were originally revealed during Minecraft Live 2020, along with the deep dark. Walking on these blocks would cause their teeth to pop out, presumably dealing damage.

This interesting block ended up being dropped from the update, leaving sculk-infested areas slightly safer than they could've been.

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7) Fletching table functionality

The fletching table is the last workstation that needs a use (Image via Mojang)

The fletching table is the final villager workstation to not have a use. These blocks were originally intended to be given a purpose in 1.16; however, they still don't have one.

However, this will hopefully change in the near future, as they were given a use in the latest Minecraft April Fools update. Mojang will sometimes use these updates as a way to test things for future updates.

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8) Updated birch forest

The birch forest concept art shown off by Mojang (Image via Mojang)

One of the most highly anticipated parts of The Wild Update was the revamped birch forest shown off by Mojang in the form of concept art. However, in a highly controversial decision, Mojang would later come out and claim that concept art isn't a commitment and that birch forests were never intended to be a part of this particular Minecraft update.

Needless to say, this upset the community quite a bit, and players are still clamoring for refreshed birch forests. Thankfully, this is something that the community has done itself through mods such as Geophilic.

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9) Dyeable planks

The original image of dyeable planks from Dinnerbone (Image via Mojang)

One of the things that makes blocks like wool, terracotta, and concrete so useful in Minecraft builds is the range of different colors they come in. This is what made the concept of colored wooden planks so appealing.

Unfortunately, this feature hasn't been mentioned for years, though some colors of wood, such as pink, have been added to the game through new tree types.

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10) Fireflies

Fireflies have been modded into the game by fans (Image via Astemir_Kerefov/CurseForge)

Fireflies were another feature originally promised for The Wild Update. They were intended to be a particle-effect-like mob that would be eaten by frogs. However, after learning that some species of fireflies were actually toxic to frogs, Mojang removed them from the update, much to the dismay of the community.

Thankfully, fireflies have been added back to the game via a Minecraft mod.