Mojang has released the Minecraft Bedrock Edition 26.60 update, which went live on October 27, 2026, and brings experimental content from this year's fourth drop: a new Ice Caves biome, an enemy called Frostbite, and 92 bug fixes gathered from previous versions. The update arrived alongside the native launch of Bedrock Edition on Nintendo Switch 2, but the 26.60 changelog itself focuses mainly on winter content that was previously tested in the Preview channel.

Ice Caves as a new Overworld biome

Ice Caves is a new cave type that generates beneath frozen biomes such as the snowy tundra or ice peaks. The terrain is mostly made of packed ice and calcite, with icicles hanging from the ceiling that eventually break off and fall on a player standing within the light's range. Smaller icicles grow as Icicle blocks, while those formed from packed ice can reach up to 5 blocks in length, creating an effect similar to the stalactites found in regular caves or the sulfur spikes known from previous updates.

The only natural light source in the new biome is the Ice Crystal, a block that glows softly and generates both on the ground and on cave ceilings. For players building on survival servers, this is a new decorative material, though Mojang notes that the appearance and placement of the blocks may still change before the feature reaches the full release.

Frostbite: a zombie that freezes you in the cold

Frostbite is a new zombie variant that spawns in Ice Caves and other snowy biomes. Similar to drowned, it has two ways of attacking: in melee it deals damage and applies the Freezing effect to the player, and from a distance it throws Ice Balls. Regular zombies that stand in powder snow for too long can eventually turn into Frostbite, as reported by allthings.how.

The Freezing effect slows movement and deals damage over time, and the only protection against it is leather armor. This mechanic is similar to drowning or burning damage, but with a new set of conditions: the longer a player stays within range of the frosty mob without protection, the greater the risk that the effect will stack up and start seriously threatening their health.

Along with the biome and the mob, Mojang added several new elements for crafting and exploration:

  • Icicle - an icicle that generates on cave ceilings and floors, growing up to 5 blocks long
  • Ice Crystal - a light block characteristic of Ice Caves
  • Ice Ball - a thrown projectile dealing up to 4 damage points depending on speed
  • Potion of Freezing - a potion brewed from an awkward potion and an Ice Ball
  • Arrow of Freezing - a tipped arrow that works like the Potion of Freezing
  • Frostbite Spawn Egg - an egg used to summon the mob for testing in creative mode
  • Disc Press - a block currently without a texture, treated as a placeholder for future content

All of these elements are available after enabling the experimental toggle called "Drop 4 of 2026" when creating a new world, so they won't automatically appear on maps created without experiments turned on.

92 fixes and other changes

Besides the ice-related additions, Mojang fixed 92 previously reported bugs in 26.60, making this one of the bigger updates in this release cycle in terms of stability. Among the smaller fixes are improved mushroom placement mechanics and a new snapping feature when placing trapdoors, which makes precise building easier.

Explorer map names were also changed to more clearly indicate the location they lead to, and the drowned model was updated to visually match the version known from Minecraft Java Edition. This is another step toward visual parity between the two editions of the game.

How to enable the experiments and when full release happens

To see Ice Caves and Frostbite, you need to create a new world in Minecraft Bedrock Edition 26.60 and enable the "Drop 4 of 2026" experiment in the settings. The update can be downloaded from the store appropriate for your platform, and you can find the full list of versions and download links for Bedrock Edition on the Minecraft Bedrock Edition download page.

Equivalent content is already being tested on the Java Edition side as part of the 26.4 Snapshot 3, suggesting both editions will get Ice Caves in the same fourth drop of the year. According to earlier reports, the full release with this content is expected to arrive in December 2026, though Mojang may still change the appearance and behavior details of the new blocks before the final release. You can find the history of earlier 26.x versions and drops in the Minecraft version overview, and look for ideas to explore the new Ice Caves among the Minecraft world seeds.

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