Datapack Codex

World generation/History

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Java Edition

Overworld

Pre-Classic to early Infdev
Java Edition pre-Classic
Cave game tech testThe terrain is rough and full of caves as shown in Notch's video of this version.
Levels are 256×64×256 blocks in size.
rd-132211The terrain is now flat with one layer of grass above 42 layers of stone going down to the bottom of the world.
rd-20090515The terrain is now varied in height, with a layer of grass at the top, a few layers of dirt under it, and then stone going down to the bottom.
Cliffs occasionally generate.
Java Edition Classic
0.0.3aCaves now generate underground.
0.0.12aNew terrain generator, terrain is now rougher and changes in elevation often happen in 2-high intervals.
Added water and lava to world generation.
Bedrock now generates around the sides and bottom of the map.
Terrain now generates in islands above sea level. Some worlds can be 95% water because of this.
All dirt with access to sunlight below sea level does not become grass upon world generation.
0.0.13aDirt generation is now two blocks thick.
Terrain generation changed, terrain is now a little smoother than earlier.
The world no longer generates in islands, but instead, generates lakes within the main land mass, sometimes connecting to the infinite ocean around the world.
0.0.13a_03Lava no longer generates on the surface.
0.0.14aAdded sand, gravel, ore blobs, and trees.
Added world size option: levels can now be Small (128×128), Normal (256×256), or Huge (512×512).
Changed noise generator to have less bumps on the surface and smoother hill transitions.
Dirt layer can once again be more than two blocks thick.
Ores generate in large blobs on the sides of cliffs and in caves.
Beaches of both sand and gravel generate on and below ocean level.
0.0.14a_08Tree shape changed to now have a plus (+) shape on top.
0.0.15a (Multiplayer Test 1)Gravel now only generates underwater.
Changed tree shape to resemble modern small oak trees.
0.0.19aReduced the size of shorelines.
Caves are now more varied in width.
0.24_SURVIVAL_TESTTerrain is rougher with more cliffs.
Caves are longer and narrower, and get wider the deeper in the world they are.
A sea of lava generates at the bottom layer of the world.
Mushrooms and flowers now generate naturally.
Java Edition Indev
0.3120091223-0040Levels start off at "Small" size now.
20091223-1459Due to leaves blocking light, the ground immediately around a tree log generates as dirt.
20091231-1856Grass can grow in slightly darker areas meaning the ground around trees is back to grass.
20100106-2158Added new level generation options, see below:
Level type (island, floating, flat, original).[note 1]
Level shape (square, long, deep).
Level size (small, normal, huge). See below for a guide to map sizes:[note 2]
The default level type setting is Island.
The bottommost layer of the world no longer has an infinite lava sea.[verify for Java Edition]
Flowers removed from terrain generation.
20100107-1851Added the Hell level theme.
Deep floating maps now have layers of islands.
20100109-1939Replaced "Original" level type option with "Inland" type option: same as the Original type but with grass instead of water surrounding the map.
Grass blocks in Hell have been replaced with dirt.
20100110Islands now have more sand.
20100113-2015Ocean water is still infinite even though other water is finite.
20100122-1708Liquids can spawn above sea level and on floating islands.
20100122-2251New lighting pass, preventing stack overflows on huge deep floating maps.
Flowers added back to world generation.
20100124-2119Added the moss stone Starting House for players to spawn in.[note 3]
20100124-2310All air directly above bedrock layer is turned into lava.[verify]
20100128-2200Added Diamond Ore. Initially, it can generate near the surface of the world.
20100130Re-added the infinite lava sea at the bottom of the map, which is now infinitely deep.
20100131-2156The Lava sea generates only when caves cut through the top layer of bedrock.
The bottom layer of bedrock can rarely have gaps.
20100201-2227The Lava no longer spawns on the surface.[is this the correct version?]
When generating a new level, any grass block below flower turns into dirt.
20100202Flowers no longer spawn with dirt under them.
20100211-2327Water no longer generates at the edges of an Inland type world.
20100212-1210Hell now starts off bright and gets darkened.
20100213Hell worlds no longer start off fully bright before getting darkened.
The Starting House is now made of wooden planks and stone.
The Starting House now only spawns in flat, unobstructed areas.
As a side effect of the above change, when there is no good place to spawn a Starting House, it simply won't spawn. This lasts up to the end of Indev.
20100214Added the Paradise and Woods themes.
Dirt exposed to enough light upon world generation gets turned into grass (visible in Hell).
Gravel can now once again generate in places not below water.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1414The terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
World generation has been greatly simplified (with the removal of sand, gravel, caves, and ore blobs) in order to make infinite world generation implementation easier to work with.
Added a new 2D terrain noise generator, capable of generating tall cliffs and large bodies of water.
Added brick pyramids.
Added obsidian walls.
Roses no longer generate.
Dandelions now only generate as scattered, single flowers on top of grass.
Water generates at layer 65 and below where air would otherwise generate.
All generation beyond 33,554,432 blocks is solid stone.
20100227-1433Brick pyramid generation changed - they now always come to a single point at the top, rather than sometimes being truncated, resulting in "brick square frusta".
20100313Removed obsidian walls.
20100320Ore now generates as scattered, single blocks of ore, with no altitude-based change in rarity.
Reimplemented tree generation.
20100325-1545Ore now generates in blobs, and their rarity now changes with altitude. However, a float is used in their generation, causing their generation to break down at excessive distances.
Added caves. They generate through all blocks, not just terrestrial blocks.
Caves are limited to 16 blocks in length.
Mid-Infdev to mid-Alpha
Java Edition Infdev
20100327The terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
World generation has been significantly overhauled, which is visually fairly obvious.
Removed brick pyramids.
Removed caves.
Dandelions no longer generate.
The sea level has been decreased by one block (65 to 64).
The infinite stone wall at 33,554,432 no longer generates. Instead, the Far Lands generate at 12,550,824.
20100413-1951All trees are now fancy (large) trees.
Sand and gravel now generate with the world again.
20100420The terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
World generation seems considerably less mountainous, but more hilly.
20100607All trees are now small trees again - fancy trees do not generate.
20100611The terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
Terrain now appears to come in large islands.
Terrain can now generate high enough to be higher than the world height limit, causing it to be cut off.
Monoliths now have the potential to generate (for example, on seed -6742213483932320748 at X=-27000 and Z=13000).
Trees appear to generate more frequently now.
20100616-1808The terrain generation changed slightly in this version.[note 5]
Coastlines are now more gradual, resulting in smaller "ocean" areas.
Reimplemented caves.
Due to a bug, the upper three logs of trees have been replaced with leaves.
Random patches of flowers and mushrooms now generate.
Springs of water and lava now generate underground.
Lava now naturally generates, although how it does so exactly is unknown.
Bedrock now generates at the 4 layers above the very lowest layer of the world where the infinite lava sea still generates.
20100617-1531Caves have been changed to be "more regional", and allegedly can form large clusters. The thickness of tunnels can also vary, affecting the frequency of branching.
Springs are now more common and can generate on the surface.
Added dirt and gravel blobs.
Removed the infinite lava sea. Bedrock now generates at the very bottom layer of the world, although some of the layer is stone.
Ore blocks were "generated with a random amount of blobs regardless to the type of ore" prior to this version.
Log blocks now generate in the leaf layers of trees again.
20100624Mountains no longer cut off at the height limit.
Caves can be bigger than before.
20100625-1917Added dungeons (monster rooms).
The density of trees has been reduced.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.1Added redstone ore blobs.
Coal ore blobs can now vary in size.[verify]
v1.0.4Added winter mode worlds, with their own block palette of snow and ice. Normal worlds appear unaffected in this version though.
v1.0.6Added cacti to world generation.
Fancy trees now generate alongside normal small trees.
v1.0.11Added clay blobs and sugar cane random patches to world generation.
v1.1.0Clay generation is apparently more common.
Halloween Update terrain generator
Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0previewThe terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
Added biomes.
An in-game value corresponding to the Old Customized depth noise scale has been changed from 100 to 200.
Monoliths no longer generate, presumably as a result of changes to scale noise parameters in this version.
The bottom layer of the world is now all bedrock, rather than some of it being stone.
v1.2.6Added water and lava lakes.
Java Edition Beta
1.0Lava lakes now replace the blocks around them with stone.
Due to a bug, grassland/sand biome borders are now misaligned.
1.2Added birch trees.
Added spruce trees.
Added lapis lazuli ore blobs to world generation.
Fancy oak trees are more common.
There is allegedly more coal ore, iron ore and diamond ore found in caves. Whether this refers to blob size or frequency is unknown.
1.2_02Lapis lazuli ore is apparently more common and can be found at bedrock level.
1.3Sandstone now generates beneath natural sand.
Fixed grassland/sand biome borders being misaligned.
1.6Test Build 3Added random patches of grass, ferns and dead bushes to world generation.
The frequency of ore blobs no longer varies per quadrant of the world.
Due to a bug, clay now exclusively spawns when x and z are equal.
1.7Fixed the aforementioned issue with clay generation.
Adventure Update terrain generator
Java Edition Beta
1.8Pre-releaseThe terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
Terrain generation has been outright overhauled, adding and removing several biomes and changing how height is applied. The full list of precise changes may be listed later, although would end up massive.
Terrain now generates in the form of large continents in an endless, open ocean.
Height is now controlled by biomes instead of climate.
Biomes are now generated with a fractal based algorithm instead of a climate system.
Removed roses from world generation.
Removed savanna, shrubland, rainforest, seasonal forest, and tundra biomes.
Added extreme hills, river, and ocean biomes.
Added strongholds, villages, mineshafts, and ravines.
Snow no longer generates in taigas.
The sea level has been decreased by one block (64 to 63).
Oceans, rivers and extreme hills are now exclusive to their respective biomes.
Added sand, gravel and clay disks.
Sand and gravel beaches no longer generate.
Fancy oak trees now share the same height per biome and are randomized when the game is restarted.[note 6]
The Far Lands and Farther Lands no longer generate.
Java Edition
1.0.0Beta 1.9 PrereleaseThe terrain generation changed slightly in this version.[note 5]
Reduced the size of islands and oceans.[note 7]
Added mushroom island, mushroom island shore, ice plains, ice mountains, frozen river, and frozen ocean biomes.
Added Nether fortresses and added an (empty) portal room to strongholds.
Readded roses to world generation.
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3Added a glass tower to strongholds.
Added more chests to strongholds.
Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4Added the End.
Removed the glass towers of strongholds. Grass and flowers can now generate in snowy biomes - previously they could generate only under shade, for example from trees. When the previous behavior started is unknown.
1.111w48aChanged temperature value of taigas from 0.3 to 0.05, making them generate with snow again.
12w01aAdded more biomes, these are: beaches, and biome variants such as desert hills, extreme hills edge, forest hills, and taiga hills.
Reduced the height of extreme hills ever so slightly.
Added superflat world type.
Blacksmith buildings in villages now hold chests with loot.
1.2.112w03aThe terrain generation changed significantly in this version.[note 4]
Added jungle and jungle hills biomes. As a result, the placement of all major land biomes has been shifted.
12w04aAdded desert wells to deserts.
12w05aMineshafts now bridge over ravines.
12w07aCaves and ravines no longer generate.
12w08aCaves and ravines generate once more.
1.3.112w16aAdded an optional bonus chest.
12w19aChanged height scale and height depth of desert hills, forest hills, extreme hills edge, ice mountains, jungle hills and taiga hills to make these hill biomes slightly taller.
12w21aAdded desert pyramids to deserts.
Added emerald ore, which generates on blobs of up 10 blocks in extreme hills biome and variants.
Changed desert villages to have desert-specific blocks.
12w22aAdded jungle pyramids to jungles.
Changed emerald ore blob size to 1 block.
1.4.212w36aAdded carrots and potatoes to villages.
12w38aStone monster eggs now rarely generate in Extreme Hills biomes and variants.
12w40aAdded swamp huts to swamps.
1.6.113w17aWater lakes no longer generate in desert biomes.
The Update that Changed the World terrain generator
This section is missing information about: a large amount of unaccounted-for changes in this era.
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Java Edition
1.7.213w36aThe terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
Just like with Beta 1.8, terrain generation has been outright overhauled.
Re-added savanna, and added several of its variants.
Oceans are now much smaller.
Added mesa and its variants.
Each 48-bit world seed generated 64 layers of terracotta that repeated every 64 blocks on the Y-axis, for use in generating terracotta layers in mesa biomes.
Added roofed forest and its variants.
Added sunflower plains as a plains variant.
Added birch forest and its variants.
Added flower forest as a forest variant.
Added extreme hills+ as a extreme hills variant.
Taiga now normally generates without snow, similar to taiga from Beta 1.8 to 1.1.
The previous Taiga has become its own biome, cold taiga.
Added mega taiga and its variants.
Added deep ocean as a ocean variant.
Added several biome variants.
Added Amplified world type.
Jungle is now significantly rarer.
Several changes to swampland, plains, and extreme hills.
Extreme hills edge no longer generates naturally.
Removed frozen ocean.
Changed biome categorization into 4 categories.
Biome elevation now has much greater variation.
Caverns are now less interconnected.
Fancy oak trees no longer naturally generate in forests due to performance issues.[note 8]
13w39aAdded red sand, which replaces sand in mesa biomes.
1.814w02aAdded diorite, andesite, and granite, which generates randomly underground.
14w17aAdded Customized world type.
14w25aAdded ocean monuments, which generates in oceans.
14w32aAdded red sandstone, which generates in mesa caves instead of chiseled sandstone.[note 9]
1.915w31aThere are now 128 strongholds per world, instead of 3.
15w43aAdded igloos.
15w44aFancy oak trees now generate in forests again.[note 10]
1.1016w20aAdded fossils, which generates underground.
Added trees to plains and sunflower plains.
1.1116w39aAdded woodland mansions, which generates rarely in roofed forests.
1.1318w06aThe terrain generation changed slightly in this version.[note 5]
Removed Customized world.
Mutated/Modified biome variants now conform to biome and river boundries.[note 11]
Spawning positions of jungle pyramids, igloos, and swamp huts were changed slightly in each world.
18w07aThe height of fancy oak trees now vary within biomes.[note 6]
18w08aAdded warm ocean and its deep variant.
Added lukewarm ocean and its deep variant.
Added cold ocean and its deep variant.
Re-added frozen ocean, although its different from the original version.
Added deep frozen ocean as a frozen ocean variant.
18w08bDeep warm ocean no longer generates naturally.
18w09aAdded underwater ruins, which generate in all oceans.
18w10dAdded coral reefs, which generate in warm ocean.
18w11aAdded shipwrecks, which generate in all oceans.
18w15aAdded icebergs, which generate in frozen ocean.
18w16aAdded Buffet world type.
1.1418w43aAdded bamboo jungle and its mutated variant.
18w47aAdded pillager outposts, which generates in most land biomes.
18w49aAdded snowy tundra villages.
19w07aAdded snowy tundra zombie villages.
1.1519w34aAdded bee nests, and bees, which generates anywhere.
1.1620w16aAdded ruined portals.
1.16.21.16.2 Pre-release 2Plateaus generate more frequently at the edges of badlands.
1.1720w45aAdded amethyst geodes, which generate underground.
Added copper ore, a new ore that generates in the Overworld.
20w49aAdded dripstone caves, which is accessible only through the Buffet or Custom world types.
21w06aComplete overhaul of caves.
The World has been extended 64 blocks up and 64 blocks down, which means that it is possible to build from -64 to 319 in the overworld.
Ore generation has been tweaked to match the new world height.
Added aquifers.
Added spaghetti and cheese caves.
Removed underwater canyons and underwater caves.
21w07aAdded grimstone, which generates below Y=0.
21w08aAdded smooth basalt, which generates as part of amethyst geodes.
Added deepslate ores, which now generates when an ore replaces deepslate.
Added crack carvers, which are like canyons but deeper.
21w10aAdded lush caves, which is accessible only through the Buffet or Custom world types.
21w15aReverted most of the changes from 21w06a back to the original, as the changes have moved to Java Edition 1.18. This can be bypassed by using the official Caves and Cliffs datapack.
Tuff and deepslate now generates in blobs between Y=0 and Y=16.
21w16a(Experimental changes) Aquifers below Y=0 are now sometimes made of lava.
21w17a(Experimental changes) Added noodle caves.
21w20aAmethyst geodes have been made rarer, from 1 geode in 30 chunks to 1 geode in 53 chunks.
Caves & Cliffs terrain generator
Java Edition
1.181.18 Experimental Snapshot 1The terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
For the first time since Java Edition 1.7.2 in 2013, terrain generation has been majorly overhauled once again.
All of the cave changes from 21w06a to 21w17a has been re-implemented.
World seeds are now 48-bit instead of 64-bit due to biome noise generation only being affected by the last 48 bits of the world seed number like all other terrain generation elements.
Lush caves and dripstone caves now generate naturally.
Mountains have received a complete overhaul.
Added 5 sub-biomes for the new mountains: mountain meadow, mountain grove, snowy slopes, lofty peaks and snow capped peaks.
Terrain generation is now independent from biomes; biomes adapt to whatever terrain they happen to generate throughout.
Terrain is now smoother and more extreme.
Removed Large Biomes and the Amplified world type.
Removed most of the sub-biomes.
World seeds now generate 192 layers of terracotta per world seed, instead of 64 layers of terracotta, for use in generating terracotta in badlands biomes.
Eroded badlands and ice spikes were added back in 1.18 experimental snapshot 2.
Swamps do not generate correctly.
1.18 experimental snapshot 2The terrain generation changed slightly in this version.[note 5]
Swamps now generate properly.
Eroded badlands and ice spikes now once again generate naturally.
The terrain now tends to be flatter and taller, generating from y=220 to y=260.
Biomes are now smoother and less noisy, with fewer microbiomes.
Beaches are now larger. Some areas don't generate them to provide some variation.
Reduced the size of cheese caves.
Cave entrances are now smaller, and less likely to go down all the way to deepslate level.
Lush caves are now rarer and smaller.
Underground biomes interfere less with surface biomes. They can still leak out sometimes.
21w37aChanged main terrain noise generation, though how exactly it changed is not known.
21w40aIncreased the average size of most biomes.
21w41aJava Edition now uses xoroshiro128++ as its pseudorandom number generator for Overworld terrain generation, changing from the linear congruential generator (LCG) it used previously. As a result, all world seeds have been shuffled, and all generation elements of the world seed are exclusively 64-bit.
21w43aWorld seeds have been shuffled again as a result of unspecified changes to terrain generation in order for the new chunk blending feature to work properly with them.
1.19Deep Dark Experimental Snapshot 1Added the deep dark.
Added the ancient city.
22w14aAdded mangrove swamps.
1.2023w12aAdded cherry groves.
Added the trail ruins.
1.20.3
Experiment
Update 1.21		23w45aAdded trial chambers.
1.21.2
Experiment
Winter Drop		24w40aAdded pale gardens.
Initially, they only generate with positive weirdness.
1.21.525w02aPale gardens can now also generate in areas with negative weirdness.
Woodland mansions now generate in pale gardens.
26.2snap1Added sulfur caves.
Upcoming Java Edition
26.3snap1Added dappled forests.
Added abandoned camps.

The Nether

This section is missing information about:
  • did 13w36a's cave generation changes affect the Nether?
  • overworld-style lava lakes with stone generated in the Nether for a period of time in 1.13's development, when did this happen and when were they removed?
  • for how long did large crimson/warped fungi generate on the Nether roof during 1.16's development, and when was this removed?
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0previewAdded the Nether.
v1.2.0_01Some areas where soul sand would have generated in the Nether in v1.2.0 now generate with gravel instead.
v1.2.0_02Soul sand now generates in some places previously replaced by gravel.
Java Edition Beta
1.8Pre-releaseThe Far Lands and Farther Lands no longer generate, including in the Nether.
Java Edition
1.2.112w07aMushrooms now generate on top of the Nether roof.
1.513w01aAdded Nether quartz ore, which generates in the Nether.
13w02aAdded hidden lava, which generates in the Nether.
1.6.113w18aAdded loot chests to Nether fortresses.
1.1016w20aAdded magma blocks, which generates in the Nether.
1.1318w07aRavines now generate in the Nether.
?Nether caves now have a lava level - they previously generated with air down to bedrock.
1.1620w06aAdded crimson forests to the Nether.
Added warped forests to the Nether.
Added soul sand valleys to the Nether.
The original Nether biome has been renamed to the Nether wastes.
Added ancient debris, a rare ore in the Nether.
20w11aAdded Nether gold ore to the Nether.
20w15aAdded basalt deltas to the Nether.
20w16aAdded bastion remnants, which generates in the Nether.
1.21.625w15aNether fossils now contain dried ghasts.

The End

Java Edition
1.0.0Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4Added the End.
1.2.112w07aThe End no longer generates any terrain, making the dimension almost completely void.
12w08aThe End now generates once again.
1.915w31aTerrain generation in the End has been completely changed.
Added End islands, which generates hundreds of blocks from the main island.
Added End cities, which generates at the End Islands.
Added End ships, which sometimes generates at End cities.
1.1116w39aAdded return portals, which generates randomly in End islands.
1.13?The End now uses dedicated biomes for generating outer islands.
1.1721w13aThe End now generates using the full 256 blocks of world height rather than the 128 used previously.
21w14aThe End now generates as it did earlier.[note 12]

Bedrock Edition

Overworld

Early Alpha terrain generator
This section is missing information about: missing changes
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.1.0Added a simple world generator. The world is similar to pre-Java Edition Beta 1.8 world generation.
The world is 256 blocks wide and 128 blocks high.
There are five visually distinct biomes: snowy tundra, snowy taiga, plains, desert, and forest.
v0.1.3Cacti now generates in deserts.
v0.2.1Oak trees now generate with spruce logs instead of oak logs.
v0.4.0Oak trees once again generate with oak logs.
v0.5.0Mushrooms can no longer generate exposed to sunlight.
Sugar cane is now able to generate on top of sand.
Pre-Caves & Cliffs terrain generator

The terrain generator was made infinite in mid-2014 with the addition of biomes from the then Java 1.7 generator. This world generator lasted until Caves and Cliffs Part 2, which was fully released in late 2021.

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0build 1The terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
The world is now infinite. The old limited world can be created by using the Old world type.
Added most biomes that exist as of Java Edition 1.8.
Frozen Ocean no longer generates naturally.
Added villages, mineshafts, strongholds and dungeons.
Added the Flat world type.
Mesa biomes have a bug where new chunks generate with clay banding layers reset to a fixed preset after reloading the world.[note 13]
v0.9.5Added mesa bryce, extreme hills+, and jungle M.
v0.10.0build 1Mesa biomes now has gold at every elevation, and can generate mineshafts on the surface.
Huge mushrooms generate in swamps.
Added desert wells.
v0.11.0build 1Added birch forest M, birch forest hills M, extreme hills M, and extreme hills+ M.
build 8Changed the default biome.
build 10Increased the amount of gravel in the extreme hills M Biome.
v0.12.1build 1Mesa Plateau F biomes no longer generate properly.[note 14]
build 10Leaves coloring shaders are now used only when the color for a biome actually changes.
v0.13.0build 1Added desert pyramids.
v0.14.0build 1Added swamp huts.
Cauldrons in swamp huts are filled with a random potion.
v0.15.0build 1Added jungle temples.
Added savanna and taiga village variants.
Villages can now generate in snowy taiga and snowy tundra biomes, where village buildings are constructed with spruce wood like in taiga villages.
Villages have a slim chance to generate as abandoned villages, which spawn zombified villagers. Cobwebs and moss stone replace some blocks in the buildings of such villages.
v0.16.0build 1Added ocean monuments.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0alpha 0.17.0.1Added igloos.
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.0Added woodland mansions.
1.1.0Mesa biomes now generate the same pattern of clay banding layers per world seed after reloading the world.[note 13]
1.1.3alpha 1.1.3.0Added fossils.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0beta 1.2.0.2Added ravines.
1.4.0beta 1.2.14.2Added warm oceans and their deep variant.
Added lukewarm ocean and its deep variant.
Added cold ocean and its deep variant.
Added frozen ocean, although its different from the original version.
Added deep frozen ocean as a Frozen Ocean variant.
Added shipwrecks, buried treasure, coral reefs, icebergs, and underwater ravines.
beta 1.2.20.1Added underwater ruins.
Caves can now generate underwater.
1.6.0beta 1.6.0.5Birch forest m, birch forest hills m, savanna m, savanna plateau m, and mesa plateau f biomes now have the wrong grass color.[note 15]
1.9.0beta 1.9.0.0Added bamboo jungles.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3Added pillager outposts.
Added new villages.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.1Mesa plateau f biomes now properly generate.[note 14]
1.17.0beta 1.16.220.50Added the new mountain biomes: lofty peaks, snow capped peaks, snowy slopes, mountain grove, and mountain meadow behind experimental gameplay.
Added dripstone caves.
beta 1.16.220.52Added lush caves.
Extended altitude.
1.16.220All above features are unavailable in release.
beta 1.16.230.50Re-added all above.
beta 1.16.230.52Deepslate now generates under Y 16.
beta 1.16.230.54Added dripstone clusters.
beta 1.16.230.56Added noise, cheese, and spaghetti caves.
Added aquifers.
beta 1.17.0.50Added amethyst geodes.
Lush and dripstone caves generate rarely underground.
releaseMountain biomes are unavailable in release.
1.17.10Re-added mountain biomes behind experimental gameplay.
Caves & Cliffs terrain generator
This section is missing information about: updates since version 1.18.
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Bedrock Edition
1.18.0beta 1.18.0.20World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.18.
All world generator changes now available outside experimental gameplay.
Caves now reach to the surface.
Changed mountains to look like jagged peaks.
beta 1.18.0.22The old world type has been removed from the world creation screen. Existing old worlds are still playable, but do not receive new features anymore.
1.18.30
Experiment
Wild Update		beta 1.18.30.28Added the deep dark behind experimental gameplay.
beta 1.18.30.32Added ancient cities behind experimental gameplay.
1.19.0beta 1.19.0.20Added mangrove swamps.
Deep Dark and Mangrove Swamp are available outside experimental gameplay.
1.19.40Preview 1.19.40.20Old growth birch forest, windswept savanna, and dark forest biomes now have the correct grass color, matching that of Java Edition.[note 15]
1.19.80
Experiment
Next Major Update		Preview 1.19.80.20Added cherry groves behind experimental gameplay.
Preview 1.19.80.22Added the trail ruins behind experimental gameplay.
1.20.0Preview 1.20.0.21Cherry groves and the trail ruins are now available outside experimental gameplay.
1.21.60Preview 1.21.60.24Canyons now generate more often
Canyons can once again generate on the ocean floor
Canyons now completely carve through copper veins
Canyons now properly interact with aquifers, filling with water instead of generating as disconnected segments.
26.20
Experiment
Drop 2 of 2026		Preview 26.20.23Added sulfur caves.
26.30Preview 26.30.20Implemented all features from the "Drop 2 of 2026" experiment in vanilla gameplay.
Added sulfur spikes, which generate in sulfur caves.
Granite and tuff are now dispersed between sulfur and cinnabar.
Increased the amount of sulfur that generates.
26.40
Experiment
Drop 3 of 2026		Preview 26.40.27Added dappled forests.
Added abandoned camps.
Upcoming Bedrock Edition
26.50Preview 26.50.22All features from the "Drop 3 of 2026" experiment have been fully implemented.

The Nether

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.12.1build 1Added the Nether biome.
Added Nether fortresses.
Bedrock Edition
1.16.0beta 1.16.0.51Added crimson forests.
Added warped forests.
Added soul sand valleys.
Added basalt pillars, huge crimson fungi, and huge warped fungi.
beta 1.16.0.57Added basalt deltas.
Added ruined portals and piglin bastions.
1.21.80Preview 1.21.80.25Nether fossils now contain dried ghasts behind experimental gameplay.
1.21.90Preview 1.21.90.20Nether fossils now contain dried ghasts outside of experimental gameplay.

The End

Pocket Edition
1.0.0alpha 0.17.0.1Added the End biome.
Added End cities.

Legacy Console Edition

This section is missing information about: Legacy Console Edition terrain changes
 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.

Legacy Console Edition was historically updated roughly following Java Edition major releases, and as such, mirrored Java Edition changes for much of its update history.

Overworld

Halloween Update terrain generator

Xbox 360 edition was released with features roughly equivalent to Java Edition Beta 1.6, and therefore matched its terrain generation identically.

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU1 World generation is equivalent to Java Edition Beta 1.6.6
First release with features and terrain generation roughly equivalent to Java Edition Beta 1.6
World sizes are limited to 864x864 blocks.
TU3World generation is equivalent to Java Edition Beta 1.7.3
Added a seed display to the level load screen (requires existing levels to be saved out again to add the display).
Clay generation has been fixed and no longer exclusively spawns when x and z are equal.​[more information needed]
Adventure Update terrain generator

Xbox 360 version TU5 released features identical to Java Edition Beta 1.8, and therefore, all seeds have changed. The addition of Jungle biomes in TU12 shuffled positions of all major land biomes, changing a decent portion of world seeds again on Xbox 360. All other console editions except for Nintento Switch edition were initially released with the latter world generation.

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU5 World generation is mostly equivalent to Java Edition Beta 1.8.1
The terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
Added biomes: swampland, ice plains, extreme hills, ocean.
Added villages, mineshafts, strongholds, ravines.
Removed biomes - rainforest, seasonal forest, savanna, shrubland and tundra.
Removed the Void by making it impossible to break the bottom/top layer of bedrock.
Taigas are covered by snow and roses generate naturally, features added in Java Edition 1.0.0.
TU7Added Mushroom island biome.
TU9World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.0.0
Re-added beaches.
TU121.001.001.00World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.2.5
The terrain generation changed significantly in this version.
Added Jungle biomes, changing positions of all major land biomes.
Biome data is now saved to world, meaning biome positions no longer change in existing worlds after new game updates to world generation.
Build height limit changed from 128 to 256.
Cocoa grows on jungle trees.
Very rare desert wells can be found in desert biomes.
Mineshafts can generate with wooden bridges now when generated over a cave or over top another tunnel.
TU141.04World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.3.2
Added desert temples, desert village, jungle temple.
Hills in select hill biomes are now slightly taller.
CU11.00First initial release of Xbox One and PS4 editions with, classic, small, medium, and large world sizes, up to 5120x5120 blocks, and increased render distance to 18 chunks from 10 chunks.
Villages on larger world sizes do not spawn as common as they do on classic 864x864 world sizes. The rarity of villages on larger world sizes more reflects that of Java's spawn rate than classic world size spawn rate.
TU19CU71.121.121.12World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.6.4
Added witch huts.
Lakes no longer generate naturally in deserts.
TU25CU141.171.171.17Patch 1Added custom superflat world option.
The Update that Changed the World terrain generator

Nintendo Switch edition was the only Legacy Console Edition to be initially released during this world generation's stage.

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU31CU191.221.221.22Patch 31.0.1World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.8.9
The terrain generation changed greatly in this version.[note 4]
Added ocean monuments
Added biomes: Mesa, Mega Taiga, Roofed Forest, Birch Forest, Forest, Savanna, Extreme Hills+, Deep Ocean, Snowless Taiga, and 20 new technical biomes.
Melons can now be found in jungle biomes similar to pumpkins.
Swamp biomes now spawn with blue orchid flowers and the coast is covered in staggered dirt block with lily pads between them.
Plains biomes now generate with azure bluets, oxeye daises, tulips and double tall grass.
Extreme hills biomes now have snow at higher elevations, gravel, flat valleys near sea level and are slightly higher. Extreme Hills Edge biomes no longer naturally generate.
Ocean biomes contains only gravel on the floor instead of sand, dirt and gravel.
Desert temples now spawn with stained clay instead of dyed wool.
Due to limited world sizes, biomes are now downscaled 4x (16x area) in order to fit more biomes in each world (all world sizes). This differs from the "Biome Size 2" configuration in Java Edition Old Customized world type in that the 4x size downscaling occurs before hill biomes, edge biomes, and beach/shore are applied, not after like on Java. This is an exclusive feature to Legacy Console Editions.
TU32CU201.231.231.23Fix for worlds generating slightly differently every time even with the same seed.
Mutated/Modified biomes now generate correctly the same each time using a set world seed.
Fixed a world generation bug where large areas of land biomes would generate underwater as river biomes
TU39CU271.311.311.31Patch 10Fix for an issue with hills generation. Hills and mountains are now slightly taller and more varied.
TU43CU331.361.361.36Patch 13Added fossils and igloos.
There's now a small chance for villages to spawn as zombie villages.
Villages are no longer restricted by biome boundaries. They now spawn with grass paths and have bridges when generated over water. Village farms now include beetroots.
Mineshafts now generate in mesa biomes - previously they did not spawn at all, even underground.[verify]
Updated loot for loot chests in dungeons, temples, mineshafts etc.
Plains and sunflower plains biomes now have a chance to spawn trees.
Villages now generate naturally in the Taiga biome.
TU46CU361.381.381.38Patch 15World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.10.2
[verify]
TU54CU441.521.521.52Patch 241.0.4World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.12.2
Added Woodland mansions. These generate a lot more common than on Java Edition due to limited world sizes as an exclusive feature to Legacy Console Edition.
Improved spawn chances of ocean monuments.
Added Biome Scale Slider, Find Balanced Seed options as exclusive features to Legacy Console Edition.
Small biome setting was the default option since TU31, Biome Scale Slider adds new medium and large scale options. large scale option matches biome size of default Java Edition worlds. Medium scale option is 2x (4x area) smaller biomes than default Java Edition biomes.
Increased spawning frequency of biome specific structures as exclusive features to Legacy Console Edition.
TU60CU511.641.641.64Patch 301.0.11Added fallen, dying and vined trees.
Lake generation has changed.
Villages Tables have brown carpet instead of a pressure plate.
Added Ice Plains & Cold Taiga Villages. These generate with chests, but won't generate crops.
Paths around village wells now made up of grass path (sandstone in desert).
TU69 1.761.761.76Patch 38 World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.13
Added warm, lukewarm, and cold oceans. Frozen oceans now generate naturally again. Added deep ocean variants for lukewarm, cold, and frozen oceans.
Added Shipwrecks, Underwater Ruins, Coral Reefs, Icebergs, Underwater Caves, Underwater Ravines, and Buried Treasure
1.88 Added new flowers: Lily of the Valley and Cornflower.
1.91World generation is equivalent to Java Edition 1.14
Added sweet berry bushes, pillager outposts, and bamboo jungles.
Note on World Generation: In order to deliver the coolest generated villages possible, some world seeds may have villages generate in different areas than they used to before this update
Villages now have a new look, differing per biome.
Added village job sites and gathering sites.
Number of houses depends on beds.
Taiga villages are now more common.
Removed zombie villages, due to new village changes.

The Nether

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU1CU11.001.001.00Patch 11.0.1Added The Nether
TU7Added Nether fortresses.
TU43CU331.361.361.36Patch 13Magma blocks now generate in the Nether.

The End

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360Xbox OnePS3PS4PS VitaWii USwitch
TU9CU11.001.001.00Patch 11.0.1Added The End
The world is not infinite, but has a block placement limit similar to that of the Nether.
Obsidian pillars are generated in a spiral circling an unactivated exit portal.
The crystals on the two tallest obsidian pillars are surrounded by iron bars.
TU46CU361.381.381.38Patch 15The End has changed when generating a new world and can also be updated for old worlds. To get the new End in an old world, select "Reset End" in the "More Options" menu when loading the world.
After killing the ender dragon in the new End, an end gateway spawns nearby. Throwing an ender pearl into this teleports the player to a new area in the End with an end city and end ship.
There is 1 outer end island on classic worlds, and large world sizes have up to 4 outer end islands. These spawn about 2,048 blocks from the center island in each cardinal direction and are not directly connected. This is exclusive to Legacy Console Edition.
Within the End City and End Ship the player can find shulkers, elytra and a dragon head.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

Overworld

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0Added features as of Pocket Edition Alpha 0.15.4.
World seeds are 32 bit, and biomes match that of the equivalent seed on Pocket Edition between alpha 0.9.0 and Bedrock 1.17.41. Due to limited worlds, the world center is based on the spawnpoint of that seed, not at coordinate 0,0.
Despite limited worlds, biome sizes match that of Pocket Edition, this means that even on large worlds, there are no more than a dozen biomes per world, and almost all worlds do not have all biomes. Biome size is the same across all world sizes, so smaller worlds contain no more than a few biomes.
1.3.12Added ocean monuments.
1.5.25Added coarse dirt.
1.7.10Strongholds now lead to The End.​[more information needed]
1.9.19Added woodland mansions and underground fossils.

The Nether

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0Added features as of Pocket Edition Alpha 0.15.4.
1.9.19 Added natural magma block generation into the Nether.

The End

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.7.10Added the End with end cities, end ships, chorus trees, and exit portals.

Glacier seed comparison

This section would benefit from the addition of more images.
 
Please remove this notice once you have added suitable images to the article.
The specific instructions are: Bedrock Edition from MCPE 0.1.0 to current day, Legacy Console Edition from Xbox 360 TU1 to PS4 1.95 (use small biomes after introduction of LCE biome size, but LCE large biomes as bonus extra is okay), and New Nintendo 3DS Edition. Also add zoom level 3 maps (in most cases center it at 0,0) from the introduction of the filled map item for Java, Bedrock, Legacy Console, and New 3DS Edition.

Java Edition

Spawn area
  • The seed Glacier in Alpha v1.1.2_01.
    The seed Glacier in Alpha v1.1.2_01.
  • The seed Glacier in Beta 1.7.3.
    The seed Glacier in Beta 1.7.3.
  • The seed Glacier in Beta 1.8.
    The seed Glacier in Beta 1.8.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.0.0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.0.0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.2.5.
    The seed Glacier in 1.2.5.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.6.4. Minor differences.
    The seed Glacier in 1.6.4. Minor differences.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.7.2.
    The seed Glacier in 1.7.2.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.15.2.
    The seed Glacier in 1.15.2.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1, the first Glacier seed to actually generates glaciers at spawn.
    The seed Glacier in 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1, the first Glacier seed to actually generates glaciers at spawn.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 2.
    The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 2.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 5.
    The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 5.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.20.
    The seed Glacier in 1.20.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.12.2 with the "Neo-Beta" Old Customized preset.
    The seed Glacier in 1.12.2 with the "Neo-Beta" Old Customized preset.
  • The seed Glacier in Alpha v1.1.2_01, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in Alpha v1.1.2_01, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in Beta 1.7.3, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in Beta 1.7.3, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in Beta 1.8, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in Beta 1.8, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.0.0, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.0.0, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.1, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.1, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.2.5, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.2.5, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.6.4, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.6.4, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.15.2, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.15.2, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.18 Experimental Snapshot 1, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 2, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 2, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 3, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 3, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 4, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.18 experimental snapshot 4, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.20, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.20, at exactly 0,0.
  • The seed Glacier in 1.12.2 with the "Neo-Beta" preset, at exactly 0,0.
    The seed Glacier in 1.12.2 with the "Neo-Beta" preset, at exactly 0,0.
Maps
This section would benefit from the addition of more images.
 
Please remove this notice once you have added suitable images to the article.
The specific instructions are: Add maps for versions beyond 1.7.10
  • Map of the Glacier seed in Beta 1.6.6, centered at (0, 0).
    Map of the Glacier seed in Beta 1.6.6, centered at (0, 0).
  • Map of the Glacier seed in Beta 1.8.1, centered at (0, 0).
    Map of the Glacier seed in Beta 1.8.1, centered at (0, 0).
  • Map of the Glacier seed in 1.0.0, centered at (0, 0).
    Map of the Glacier seed in 1.0.0, centered at (0, 0).
  • Map of the Glacier seed in 1.1, centered at (0, 0).
    Map of the Glacier seed in 1.1, centered at (0, 0).
  • Map of the Glacier seed in 1.2.5, centered at (0, 0).
    Map of the Glacier seed in 1.2.5, centered at (0, 0).
  • Map of the Glacier seed in 1.3.2, centered at (0, 0).
    Map of the Glacier seed in 1.3.2, centered at (0, 0).
  • Map of the Glacier seed in 1.6.4, centered at (0, 0).
    Map of the Glacier seed in 1.6.4, centered at (0, 0).
  • Map of the Glacier seed in 1.7.10, centered at (0, 0).
    Map of the Glacier seed in 1.7.10, centered at (0, 0).

Notes

This article needs cleanup to comply with the style guide.
 [discuss]
Please help improve this page. The talk page may contain suggestions.
Reason: Split notes from references. And what are map sizes and world types doing here??
  1. ↑ See Notes §
  2. ↑ See Notes §
  3. ↑ See Starting House#History for detailed information about Starting House history.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l This means that worlds converted from versions before this change the distribution of chunks generated after.
  5. ↑ a b c d This means that worlds converted from versions before this may change the distribution of chunks generated after.
  6. ↑ a b MC-11208
  7. ↑ This can be observed by using a program like MCA selector.
  8. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/1m97cw/while_you_are_all_crying_over_the_name_change_of/
  9. ↑ MC-55228
  10. ↑ MC-29844
  11. ↑ MC-125037
  12. ↑ MC-221553
  13. ↑ a b MCPE-18734
  14. ↑ a b MCPE-23081
  15. ↑ a b MCPE-34936
Map sizes (width × length × height)
Square Long Deep
Small 128×128×64 256×64×64 64×64×256
Normal 256×256×64 512×128×64 128×128×256
Huge 512×512×64 1024×256×64 256×256×256

Indev world types

  • Island: World spawns as a large island surrounded with water; smaller island(s) off the coast are common too. Border block is water as well. Sand generates.
  • Floating: World generates in rings of floating islands high in the air. Border block is water. Sand is common. Caves often lead into the void.
  • Flat: World is a perfectly flat plane with trees growing. Border block is grass. Sand does not generate.
  • Original: Resembles Classic 0.30 terrain generation.
  • Inland: Same as Original, but border block is grass instead of water.

Sources