Minecraft's new faster update schedule will probably fill modders with both despair and nostalgia

rockpapershotgun.com:

If there's one thing I've heard from Minecraft modders when I've asked for their thoughts on the future of Minecraft, it's some variation on "fewer updates, please". This might seem unreasonable if you're not into modding, but the price of updating a game is often that you break any mods designed for it. Hence, the parts of Minecraft's history many seasoned Minecraft modders - together with server owners and pro mapmakers - remember most fondly are the longer lulls between updates.

I've heard Minecraft: Java Edition 1.12.2 described as a "golden" period, simply because there was almost a year between it and the next major update. Picture these interludes as sustained magma leaks on the chilly ocean floor, creating a pocket of warmth in which various species of uncommonly inventive organism can dwell and prosper and make little houses out of coral. But then, the magma supply runs out, and the tinkersome critters must hastily relocate to the next thermal oasis.

Repeatedly updating a successful mod is a full-time job which potentially steals time away from other projects. As such, I'm curious to know what Minecraft's modders think of Mojang's recent announcement that Minecraft is switching to a faster "feature development rhythm". It's seemingly reminiscent of the days before Microsoft bought Mojang, when features arrived in more of a when-they're-ready fashion rather than at the bidding of a seasonal "content drop" cadence.

"Instead of providing one free update during the summer, as we've done in the past, we'll now be releasing a number of free game drops throughout the year," reads a post on the game's official site from Minecraft general manager Ryan Cooper. "These game drops will vary in size and will bring you features to explore more frequently."

It's not quite clear what "game drops" amounts to, but recent updates contain a few clues. "Sharp-eyed players will have spotted our first trial of these drops all the way back in December 2023, when we made visual