Minecraft's copper-focused update now has an official name

Earlier this year, Mojang revealed that the next major Minecraft content update is overhauling the Copper side of the sandbox, finally making the ore and ingots useful. Now, that update has a name attached to it, which is aptly called The Copper Age.

While Copper has existed in Minecraft since 2021 as a commonly occurring ore in the overworld, its uses have been severely limited, at least until The Copper Age lands.

As previously announced, the biggest addition of this content update will be the Copper Golem. This minion can be crafted by placing a carved pumpkin on a copper block, who will then go around the player's base and sort items using the matching Copper Chest that accompanies it. Both the Golem and the Chests oxidize over time, just like the rest of the Copper additions too.

Once fully oxidized, Golems grind to a halt until scraped with an axe. Honeycomb can also be applied to wax the Golem and stop it from oxidizing forever. The studio even teased an interaction between Iron and Copper Golems.

Next, Copper ingots that are smelted from ore will be usable for equipment and armor crafting, offering a brand-new tier of gear. Everything from tools and weapons to horse armor can be made out the material, and they sit between wood and iron in the toughness and durability departments.

A bunch of decorative items are incoming too. From the copper side, this includes new Lanterns, Torches, Chains, and Bars. Meanwhile, Shelf Blocks are a brand-new block that can be used to display items on walls, and also supports hotbar swapping with players. Lastly, Dye icons are being redesigned to help them be more visually distinct for accessibility.

Minecraft's The Copper Age update does not have a solid release date yet, but it is coming later this year to all platforms. The new features can also be tried out right now by joining the latest
Java snapshot or Bedrock beta and preview versions of Minecraft.