Minecraft Live on Saturday put a clean label on something fans have asked about for more than a decade. The Sift is Minecraft’s first new dimension in over 14 years, and Mojang is splitting the reveal across two products: you can walk into it inside Minecraft Dungeons II on September 29, then meet a Java and Bedrock version in 2027.
Xbox Wire editor-in-chief Joe Skrebels and Mojang’s own Live recap published the same outline within hours of the show. The useful part for console owners is the calendar, not the poetry. Dungeons II is the early look; the main game gets the fourth dimension next year; Switch 2 Minecraft is still dated for October 27.
What Mojang confirmed about The Sift
In Dungeons II, strange events and wandering souls tip you toward a rift that drops you into The Sift. Xbox Wire describes a colorful new reality with its own companion and enemy mobs, shifting tides that change how your hero behaves, and hazardous blocks that alter exploration. Named biomes so far include Meadows and Carapace; Mojang is holding other areas back for players to find in the ARPG.
The Live recap is careful about the vanilla edition. Mojang showed an in-development glimpse of The Sift running in Minecraft itself, but it has not published portal rules or a 2027 month. Studio messaging is that Dungeons II is the place to learn the mobs, blocks, and biomes first, with more Live shows filling in the Java and Bedrock plan later.
Timeline for console and PC players
| Date | What arrives | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Mon Sep 28, 12pm PDT | Dungeons II pre-order bonus window ends | Anyone still hunting Twisted cape / pet / hero skins |
| Tue Sep 29, 2026 | Minecraft Dungeons II launches; The Sift playable in the ARPG | Xbox Series, PC (Game Pass Ultimate / PC Game Pass day one), PS5, Switch, Switch 2 |
| Mon Oct 27, 2026 | Minecraft on Nintendo Switch 2 | Switch 2 owners waiting for the main game (Live reiterated the date) |
| 2027 (month TBA) | The Sift comes to Java & Bedrock | Vanilla survival / creative players; access method not published yet |
| 2027 | Minecraft World opens at Chessington, London | Theme-park visit; separate from the dimension update |
Also from the same Live: Ice Caves
The show’s next game drop preview headed underground into Ice Caves, a frozen cave biome with icicles, light-emitting ice crystals, calcite, and a frozen zombie variant that can apply a freezing effect and throw ice balls. That drop is separate from The Sift’s 2027 vanilla arrival. Treat it as the nearer gameplay beat for people who live in Java or Bedrock every week, while The Sift remains the headline structural change.
Who should care this week
| If you… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Have Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass | Install Dungeons II on Sep 29 for a day-one look at The Sift; Play Anywhere covers console and PC. |
| Play on PS5 or Switch / Switch 2 without Game Pass | Buy Dungeons II if you want the early dimension tour; Standard Edition has been listed around $29.99. |
| Only care about vanilla Minecraft | No Sift portal to chase on Tuesday. Bookmark 2027 and use Dungeons II only if you want a preview of biomes and mobs. |
| Are waiting on Switch 2 Minecraft | October 27 remains the Live-confirmed date; The Sift’s vanilla build is still a year-out story. |
Fourteen years after The End, Mojang finally named a fourth dimension and put a short-term and long-term door on it. For this week, the door that actually opens is Dungeons II on September 29.
Sources: Xbox Wire; Minecraft.net Live recap; VGC; Nintendo Life.