Mojang’s Chase the Skies update shakes up exploration, visuals, and multiplayer with flying ghast mounts, the Vibrant Visuals engine, and a built-in player locator. Bedrock players go first; Java follows soon.
After years of static skies, Mojang aims to reimagine vertical play. “We want to change how players think about vertical space,” says Creative Director Jens “Jeb” Bergensten. This isn’t just another patch—it’s a major leap in how we build, explore, and cooperate.
Instead of crafting a glider, you’ll tame a ghast through a multi-stage process: gather Dried Ghast Blocks in the Nether, trade rare scraps with Piglins, then bond with your “ghastling” by feeding it snowballs. “Flying shouldn’t be handed to you on a silver platter,” notes Senior Designer Amber “Red” Thompson. With this mount, expect sky-high dungeons, floating bases, and battles above the clouds.
Mojang’s new lighting pipeline brings official global illumination, soft shadows, and dynamic color correction. “We rewrote large parts of our light engine,” says Lead Graphics Engineer Victor “Pixel” García. While Java waits for OpenGL upgrades, Bedrock players will enjoy enhanced atmospheres without sacrificing performance. Players can toggle Vibrant Visuals per world, striking a balance between classic charm and modern sheen.
Saying goodbye to third-party plugins, the Locator Bar displays X, Y, Z coordinates and a bar indicator for up to eight friends—even across dimensions. Community star Mumbo Jumbo is already sold: “This tool will save viewers some pain—and let us build together faster.” For console and mobile gamers, who can’t mod, this feature is especially game-changing.
Features land in Bedrock’s 1.21 release first, with Java slated for 1.22 or later. Mojang highlights cross-platform consistency and modern graphics APIs as key drivers, but the delay has sparked debate among Java purists. According to server veteran Jordan “Capitalism” Muller, “Waiting six to nine months tests loyalty,” yet Mojang pledges full parity over time.
Bedrock players should brace for a wave of new builds, aerial challenges, and revitalized worlds. Java fans can expect polished code and community-driven tweaks once features arrive. Chase the Skies isn’t just about flying—it’s about elevating Minecraft’s core systems closer to the mods that inspired them.
Chase the Skies adds ghast mounts, official dynamic lighting, and an in-game player locator. Bedrock gets first flight; Java touches down later.