Mojang’s Owen Hill updated the company blog on Monday with news about an upcoming update for Minecraft Pocket Edition and Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta. This update, version 0.16, will add the most ferocious mobs seen thus far in Minecraft along with ocean monuments and “trinkets” for exploring these areas. Other ingredients thrown into the new update include new Slash commands, beacons, and of course new blocks the play with.
“We’re calling it The Boss Update because it includes bosses, is ‘boss’ in nature, and is in charge of hiring and firing all the other updates released so far,” Hill said.
Thanks to the inclusion of the new ocean monuments, players will come across a laser-shooting Elder Guardian and his army of minions lurking in those cold depths. Another boss players will uncover is the Wither, a three-headed beast that shoots blue skulls. All bosses will drop tasty rare loot such as Nether Stars and sponges. What? No epic gear?
As for the new Slash commands for Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition, that means players can enter a specific command using the “/” symbol. The update will support 20 commands, allowing players to generate mobs, change the time of day, distribute items to other players, and more. The Java-based PC version already supports more than that, like modifying the current game mode, changing the environment, and banning players. More commands will be made to Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition in the near future.
As for when this update arrives, Hill said “soon-ish.” However, Android gamers can get an early taste of the upcoming patch by signing up to participate in the beta and providing Mojang with valuable feedback. Hill notes that beta testers who want access to a Realm will need to revert back to 0.15.6 in order to re-enter those subscription-based Minecraft worlds.
For players who wish to join the beta, after hitting the initial sign-up button, they will receive an update with the testing version. If Minecraft: Pocket Edition isn’t installed on their Android device, they can download it from Google Play first and then receive the beta update sometime thereafter (could be a few hours). To leave the program, users can simply uninstall the beta app and reinstall the publicly available version.
Right now, Hill isn’t very forthcoming in regards to details about the bosses in Minecraft. However, additional information about The Boss Update will be provided during Minecon 2016, which takes place September 24 — 25 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. That said, don’t hold your breath waiting for The Boss Update, as it likely won’t stomp into Pocket Edition and Windows 10 Edition until October, if not during the actual Minecraft convention.
