For over a decade, Minecraft players have awaited the next "big number" - from 1.8 to 1.21. However, Mojang has officially announced a massive shift in how the game will be developed and numbered moving forward. The era of 1.22 is gone; the era of yearly versioning has begun.
Why the change?
The old "one big update per year" model is being retired. Instead, Mojang is moving to "Game Drops" - smaller, more frequent content updates that happen throughout the year. Because updates are coming faster, the old 1.x.x numbering system became confusing.
"By moving to a calendar-based system, it becomes immediately clear when a feature was added and which version of the game is the most current."
How the new numbers work
Starting in 2026, versions will follow a simple Year.Update.Patch format.
- Year: The first two digits represent the year (e.g., 26 for 2026).
- Update: The sequence of the "Game Drop" in that year (.1, .2, .3).
- Patch: Minor bug fixes (e.g., 26.1.1).
What this means for Refined Vanilla
For us, nothing changes in terms of commitment. We will continue to keep the server fully up to date with every new Minecraft release, making sure players always have access to the latest features, fixes, and improvements as they become available.