Mojang has released Minecraft Preview 26.70.21, the latest Bedrock Edition test build paving the way for the fourth drop of 2026. The headline addition is a set of Packed Ice bricks, and alongside it the studio has thrown in the free Music Features add-on, which brings a Disc Press and a Pocket Jukebox. The build is covered in the official changelog on minecraft.net.

Packed Ice Bricks on consoles and phones

Preview 26.70.21 is the Bedrock counterpart of what already landed in Bedrock Edition through earlier Java snapshots. The new block set includes bricks, slabs, stairs, walls and chiseled variants of Packed Ice, all tinted blue and purely decorative. The key difference from regular Packed Ice: the bricks don't melt, and a pickaxe works best for mining them.

Mojang notes in the changelog that some parts of the block set still need polish. Known issues include naming, instrument sounds, placement in the Creative inventory, and behavior when flooded with water. That's a typical stage for a feature in Preview: the mechanics work, while the details get sorted out in later builds.

Ice Caves get more dangerous

Changes also hit the Ice Caves biome, announced earlier along with the Frostbite mob. Players can now fall into a cave beneath brittle ice when it breaks, and the Crevasses themselves generate more densely and with more varied ceiling heights. Combat balance is tweaked too: the Ice Ball projectile deals 2 base damage, which decreases as it loses flight speed.

  • Cows, Pigs, Chickens and Frogs spawned with eggs in Ice Caves appear as their cold variants
  • Wither Skeletons can now pick up Ice Balls from the ground
  • Polar Bears, Snow Golems and Strays are immune to the freezing effect
  • Frostbite no longer spawns naturally underground outside the Ice Caves biome
  • Polar Bears no longer spawn on brittle ice

Free Music Features add-on built into the game

Besides the icy additions, Mojang is testing something completely different: the Music Features Add-On, which comes to the game for free with no need to download it from the Marketplace. In the changelog the studio says it plainly: "This is a free add-on that is already built into your game, meaning that when you load the game you will already have the pack". Just add the "Music Features Add-On" resource pack to a world to unlock the new blocks and items.

The centerpiece is the Disc Press, a block that presses music onto Blank Discs, turning them into Track Discs you can play in a Jukebox. In Preview the press comes preloaded with tracks from Minecraft's main menu, so you can use it right after entering a world. There's also the Pocket Jukebox, a portable player that holds up to 20 discs, with music that only the player carrying it can hear. Its color depends on the bundle used in crafting, and you can dye it after assembly. Mojang cautions that these features don't work on Realms yet.

Java Edition parity fixes

A good chunk of the fixes in 26.70.21 bring Bedrock Edition in line with behavior known from Java, which matters mostly for servers bridging both platforms. Mining Fatigue now slows mining by the same amount as in Java, and likewise Haste and Conduit Power boost mining speed according to Java's values. Base damage for Guardians (from 5 to 6) and Elder Guardians (from 5 to 8) was changed too, and damage from mob projectiles now scales with difficulty the same way as in Java.

An fairly annoying Frost Walker bug was fixed as well: freezing water around the player now works in a circle instead of directionally, and the effect only activates when the player is standing on the ground. This prevents situations where ice forming under a player jumping into water caused lethal fall damage.

How to try the test build

Minecraft Preview installs alongside the regular Bedrock Edition and lets you check out upcoming features before their official release. The build is available on consoles, phones and Windows, and Mojang collects bug reports at bugs.mojang.com, with feedback on the new mechanics going to feedback.minecraft.net. For players building winter bases or exploring seeds with icy biomes, it's a chance to try the new block set before it reaches the stable version of the game.

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