Minecraft's first new dimension in 14 years is playable now, but not in Minecraft
The Sift, the first dimension added to Minecraft since the End arrived in 2011, debuted with Minecraft Dungeons II on September 29. It reaches Minecraft's Java and Bedrock editions in 2027.
Mojang has finally expanded the list of places Minecraft players can go. The Sift, first teased at Gamescom and shown off properly during Minecraft LIVE, is the first new dimension the series has added in over 14 years, joining the Overworld, the Nether and the End. It arrived on September 29 alongside Minecraft Dungeons II, and Xbox says it comes to Minecraft's Java and Bedrock editions in 2027.
What The Sift is
Xbox describes The Sift as a dimension with its own colourful look, its own mobs as both companions and threats, and rules that do not match the Overworld's. Shifting tides move through it and affect anyone caught in them, and new hazardous block types change how you cross it. Two named areas have been shown so far, the Meadows and the Carapace, with the rest deliberately left for players to stumble into.
Dungeons II first, Minecraft second
The unusual part is the order. Rather than debuting in Minecraft itself, The Sift is the setting of Minecraft Dungeons II, the dungeon crawler sequel that launched on September 29 for Xbox Series X and S, Xbox on PC, Steam, PS5, Switch and Switch 2. It is in Game Pass from day one and supports Xbox Play Anywhere, so a purchase covers console and PC.
Mojang has not put a firmer window than 2027 on the Minecraft version, and has not said how much of what appears in Dungeons II will survive the move into a survival sandbox with very different rules.
Why the gap matters
The End shipped in 2011. Everything Minecraft has added since, from the Nether update to the Deep Dark, has been a rework or an expansion of somewhere that already existed. A genuinely new dimension changes the shape of the game's endgame rather than its decoration, which is why a two-line reveal has had modders comparing it to long-running community dimension projects.
Why it matters
Minecraft adds blocks and biomes constantly, but a new dimension is a structural change, and there have only been two of those in the game's history. Anyone who has run out of things to do in the Overworld now has a date to circle, even if it is a vague one.