Minecraft 24w40a Update - What's New
The Pale Garden arrived as the Winter Drop experiment. It is a pale variant of the dark forest with pale oaks, pale moss and hanging moss, and its only mob is the creaking, which freezes while you look at it and can only be stopped by breaking its heart.
Overview
Minecraft 24w40a is a weekly development snapshot for Minecraft: Java Edition, published on October 2, 2024. Snapshots are Mojang's weekly previews of in-progress features (development week 40 of 2024), shipped early so the community can test and report problems before anything is finalized. This one logs 10 changes you can try in a throwaway test world.
The work in this update spans pale garden, the creaking, and technical. On the pale garden side it brings a pale biome variant of the dark forest with its own ambient sounds and Pale oak trees grow from saplings in a 2 by 2 square and give a full wood set.
This build is part of the development cycle leading to 1.21.2 (the Bundles of Bravery drop, after 1.21). Treat it as a preview rather than a destination: features can change, be renamed, or be cut entirely before they reach the stable release, so it is meant for testing and feedback, not for your main world or a live server.
Changes
#Pale Garden(4)
- A pale biome variant of the dark forest with its own ambient sounds
- Pale oak trees grow from saplings in a 2 by 2 square and give a full wood set
- Pale moss blocks, pale moss carpet that climbs walls, and pale hanging moss
- Animals do not spawn in the pale garden
#The Creaking(4)
- Spawns at night near a creaking heart hidden in a pale oak
- Stops moving while a player looks at it, unless the player wears a carved pumpkin
- Cannot be hurt; breaking its creaking heart removes it
- It has fire resistance, cannot enter boats and does not follow players through portals
#Technical(2)
- Data pack version 56 and resource pack version 40
- The experiment is called Winter Drop in the Experiments screen
Server Admin Migration Guide
- Snapshot only, not for a live server: keep production on the current release
- Experimental features only work in a new world with the matching experiment switched on
Known Issues
- Development snapshot for 1.21.2, features could still change before the release
What This Means
For players
Snapshots are opt-in through the official launcher. Always make a copy of any world before opening it in 24w40a, because development builds can corrupt saves and there is no guarantee the world will open in a later version. Use a fresh test world to try the new content safely.
For server admins
Do not run 24w40a on a public server. Snapshots are unsupported by server software and most plugins. Spin up a private staging instance, confirm your plugins load, and report regressions while there is still time to fix them before release.
Background & Context
- Snapshots ship roughly once a week during active development and are enabled through the "Latest snapshot" toggle in the official launcher.
- The content here was being developed toward 1.21.2 (the Bundles of Bravery drop, after 1.21); individual features may have been adjusted, renamed, or removed before that version shipped.
- Always keep a backup of important worlds before changing versions; the Astroworld versions database tracks client and server compatibility for 24w40a.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Minecraft 24w40a released?
Minecraft 24w40a was released on October 2, 2024 as a weekly development snapshot for Minecraft: Java Edition.
What is new in 24w40a?
The Pale Garden arrived as the Winter Drop experiment. It is a pale variant of the dark forest with pale oaks, pale moss and hanging moss, and its only mob is the creaking, which freezes while you look at it and can only be stopped by breaking its heart. Notable entries include: A pale biome variant of the dark forest with its own ambient sounds; Pale oak trees grow from saplings in a 2 by 2 square and give a full wood set; Pale moss blocks, pale moss carpet that climbs walls, and pale hanging moss. In total it documents 10 changes across 3 categories.
Should I use 24w40a on my main world?
No. 24w40a is a weekly development snapshot meant for testing. Keep your main world on the latest stable release and only open a backup copy in a separate test world to try the new content.
Can I run 24w40a on a Minecraft server?
It is not recommended for a public server. Snapshot only, not for a live server: keep production on the current release. Use a private staging instance to test plugins and mods, not to host players.
Which Minecraft version is 24w40a a preview of?
24w40a is part of the development cycle for 1.21.2 (the Bundles of Bravery drop, after 1.21). Features shown here are still in progress and may change before the final release.
Are there known issues in 24w40a?
Yes. Documented issues for this build include: Development snapshot for 1.21.2, features could still change before the release. Development builds are expected to have rough edges that get fixed before release.
Looking for version compatibility info?
Check client and server version details on our versions database.