Winter is coming to your Minecraft world—literally! The latest Bedrock Edition Preview, version 26.70.22, landed on October 28, 2026, and it’s packed with frosty new blocks, a chilly mob variant, and some surprising transformations when you mix Powder Snow with certain undead. This is the third beta for the upcoming 26.70 update, part of the fourth game drop of 2026, and you can test it right now on Bedrock Edition (Windows, Xbox, iOS, Android, and beyond). No modloader is needed—just enable the Minecraft Preview or beta option on your platform.
As always, these experimental features are still in development, so back up your worlds before diving in. Ready to build a snow palace and freeze the oceans? Let’s break down everything new.
Snap to It: The Full Snow Brick Family
Snow builders, rejoice! The star of this preview is the Snow Brick block set, a beautiful, cohesive building material made from—you guessed it—snow. Forget basic snow blocks that melt; these are a solid, permanent addition to your inventory. According to Mojang’s Jay Wells, you can now craft “a full set of snow bricks, including snow bricks, packed snow brick slabs, snow brick stairs, and snow brick walls.” That’s the whole architectural suite: block, slab, stair, and wall.
Here’s what you need to know:
- They don’t melt. Unlike regular snow layers or blocks, Snow Bricks are ice-free and stable in any biome—even the Nether (well, visually at least; don’t expect them to survive lava).
- Best tool: a shovel. You’ll get the fastest break time by using any shovel. If you’re gathering them in bulk, silk touch isn’t required—they drop themselves when broken with a shovel.
- Crafting hint: While the recipe isn’t spelled out in the changelog, expect to combine snowballs or snow blocks in a crafting grid, similar to stone bricks or polished blackstone. Keep an eye on the official preview notes for the exact recipe when the feature goes live.
Whether you’re building an igloo village or an entire frozen fortress, these bricks will blend seamlessly with snowy biomes and add a crisp, clean texture to your builds.
Meet the Cold Sulfur Cube: Your Personal Frost-Walker
Remember the Sulfur Cube introduced in earlier drops? It’s getting a frigid new personality. If you feed a Blue Ice block to a Sulfur Cube, it transforms into a Cold archetype. And this icy version has a magical trick up its sleeve: it automatically creates Frosted Ice whenever it moves over a water source block, exactly like the Frost Walker enchantment you’d put on boots.
This is huge for ocean exploration or bridging across rivers. Instead of sprinting around yourself, just lure a Cold Sulfur Cube and walk behind it as it solidifies the surface. It’s both a helper mob and a living ice bridge! The brief doesn’t mention if the ice lasts, but based on Frost Walker mechanics, it should gradually melt after the cube moves away, so stay on top of it.
To get Blue Ice, you’ll need to mine icebergs in frozen oceans or craft it from packed ice, which itself comes from regular ice. Pro tip: pack a silk touch pickaxe to move Blue Ice blocks without shattering them.
Wandering Traders Get Chilly Deals
“Wandering Traders now sell one Ice Crystal for two Emeralds.”
— Jay Wells, Mojang
That’s right: the itinerant llama-leading merchant has added an Ice Crystal to his stock. For just two Emeralds, you can pick up this new item. The preview notes don’t detail what an Ice Crystal does yet—maybe it’s a crafting component for Snow Bricks, a conduit for cold-themed potions, or a key ingredient in another future feature. Keep some emeralds handy when you spot those blue-robed traders; you’ll want to experiment.
Powder Snow Makeover: From Husk to Frostbite
One of the coolest behavioral changes involves Powder Snow. Mojang has expanded the transformation chain that started with strays and skeletons. Now, two more mobs get a frosty rebirth:
- Husks (MCPE-243516): When a husk sinks into Powder Snow, it first turns into a regular Zombie, and then that zombie turns into a Frostbite—a new snowy variant.
- Drowned (MCPE-243517): Similarly, if a drowned gets buried in Powder Snow, it reverts to a Zombie, which then becomes a Frostbite.
What’s a Frostbite? The name suggests a frozen zombie variant, possibly similar to the Stray for skeletons. This opens up fun survival mechanics: you could build traps with Powder Snow to convert hostile mobs into unique forms, possibly for drops or just for the spectacle. And for mapmakers, it’s a new tool for custom mob encounters.
Ice Cave Inhabitants: Snowy Villagers Spawn Naturally
The chilly biome update doesn’t stop at mob conversions. Ice Caves (those deep, frozen tunnels with packed ice and icicles) now host villagers and zombie villagers in snowy variants. That means you might stumble upon a frozen village tucked inside a glacier, complete with fur-clad locals who look like they’ve lived there for generations. It’s a world-gen tweak that makes Ice Caves feel more alive and gives them a purpose beyond just mining packed ice.
Zombie villagers spawning as snowy variants in these caves also hints at a new source of zombie villagers to cure—perfect if you’re trying to build a village from scratch in the coldest corners of your world.
What’s Next?
This preview is full of wintery wonders that will eventually roll into the stable Bedrock release as part of the final 2026 game drop. While you wait for the full update, test these features in your preview worlds, share feedback with Mojang, and maybe start planning that Snow Bricks castle. We’ll keep you posted as more details emerge—especially what that Ice Crystal does and whether Cold Sulfur Cubes get even more behaviors. In the meantime, check out our Bedrock guides and downloadable resources to enhance your game. Stay frosty!
