Why Minecraft's new version naming system is still confusing

Mojang recently announced a massive change in Minecraft's version numbering system. Ever since the game was released in 2011, its version numbers started with "1", followed by the second number denoting the major update, and the third number denoting hotfix updates.

From 2026, however, this age-old system will come to an end, and the first number will denote that particular year, and the second number will denote the number of game drops in that year. For example, the first game drop version of next year will be "26.1".

Despite the change, the new numbering system feels like a messy solution to an already messy issue. Here's why.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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Reasons why Minecraft new version naming system is confusing

Disparity between Java and Bedrock version numbering

The disparity between Java and Bedrock versions will continue (Image via Mojang Studios)

The Minecraft version numbering change was announced with a blog post explaining how both Java and Bedrock Edition versions will be numbered moving forward. A chart was shown showing how the 2025 game drops and hotfixes numbers would have looked.

In this, a massive disparity between Java and Bedrock version numbers is clearly seen. While the first 2025 game drop in Java Edition has the number "25.1", it is numbered "25.10" in Bedrock Edition. Mojang explained that this was because Bedrock's platform limitations and the fact that they receive more frequent updates than the Java Edition.

Between two game drops, Bedrock Edition will receive one additional update, while Java Edition won't. This results in the next game drop being numbered as "25.2" on Java Edition, but "25.30" on Bedrock Edition.

It continues till the end of the year, where the fourth game drop will be numbered "25.4" on Java, but it will go till "25.70" on Bedrock.

Smaller hotfix version numbers are different for Java and Bedrock

Smaller hotfix numbering system is even more confusing than main updates (Image via Mojang Studios)

While players might get accustomed to the new update numbering system, the hotfix and smaller update numbering system is even more confusing.

For example, if Java Edition gets a hotfix after the 25.1 game drop, it will be numbered as 25.1.1. However, if Bedrock Edition gets a hotfix after the 25.10 game drop, it will be numbered as 25.11, instead of 25.10.1.

So, in case of hotfixes, Java Edition's numbering system will get a third digit, while Bedrock Edition's numbering system will add one number to the second digit itself, which should be exclusive to the change in game drop updates.

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Edited by Akshat Kabra