The future of Minecraft looks bright thanks to all the content that Mojang already has lined up for it. The Wild Update is scheduled to release later in 2022, adding a broad variety of new content, ranging from new mobs who populate swamps to mysterious buried cities found at the very bottom of the world. Minecraft has more on the way than the Wild Update, too; there’s plenty of features like archaeology which have been postponed, but could still arrive sometime soon. Nevertheless, Mojang is always in the market for another update. Once the Wild Update releases, it’ll already be on to preparing Minecraft’s next expansion.
A lot of recent Minecraft updates have looked to the game’s future by adding totally new items and mechanics, but a future Minecraft update should consider looking to Minecraft’s past. Mojang has removed quite a few notable blocks from Minecraft in the past, and one in particular seems like a great update motivator: the gear. Gears briefly appeared in Minecraft before its alpha period, but they’ve been absent for the game since then. Mojang should strongly consider bringing gears back in a Minecraft update that’s all about new machines that players can build with the help of refined metal and rare resources.
A Machine-Focused Minecraft Update
Gears were replaced by redstone during Minecraft’s early days, and now, Minecraft players make redstone contraptions that boggle the mind. However, there could still be some compelling utility for gears in Minecraft. While redstone can deliver signals along the ground in Minecraft, it can’t run directly up a wall that’s several blocks tall without the help of some player innovation. Gears seem like a great way to relay redstone signals upward in a more streamlined way, especially if the gears can link up with new redstone-powered machines in special ways.
Minecraft is full of magical blocks and items, but it doesn’t have much advanced technology, aside from certain blocks that transmit and respond to redstone signals. That means Mojang has ample opportunity to introduce a variety of new machines to the game, made using gears, ingots, and redstone components. Maybe Mojang could give players the tools to make an assembly line that automatically crafts items when given the right components, or maybe Minecraft will get a new mob that’s robotic in nature, emitting redstone signals as it walks around an area. Advanced technology like this might seem strange in Minecraft, but if players can already make iron golems and pistons, then further advancements just seem logical.
Minecraft’s Industrial Revolution
Mojang has already laid the groundwork for a machine-heavy update. It recently added copper to Minecraft, and while copper’s uses in Minecraft are limited beyond decoration for now, its real-life reputation as a highly conductive metal could make it useful in making wires for machinery. Aside from the game’s other well-known metals, Mojang could allow players to make alloys that certain machines need to function, or introduce an engineering workbench with an extra-large crafting grid designed for complicated machines. The more creative Mojang gets with a machine update, the better.
It remains to be seen if an engineering update is something that Mojang has on its mind. Recent Minecraft history has certainly been focused on the game’s fantasy elements, rather than pushing the technological boundaries of the player’s crafting skills. Still, the prevalence of redstone and redstone devices sets a good precedent for future technology updates. For now, though, Minecraft fans will just have to look forward to the Warden and the Wild Update’s other new features. They may not be tech-focused, but the Wild Update’s contents still promise to diversify the Minecraft experience to a great extent, showcasing the kind of creativity that has made Mojang’s flagship game such a success.
Minecraft is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
