Minecraft just dropped a huge early August 2026 update and it is full of improvements, bug fixes, and a new experimental features for players to test out.
Minecraft Bedrock Edition 26.40 Patch Notes
Xbox has specifically called out Minecraft as one of the game’s that is getting a lot of attention in the new era of the company. Asha Sharma hopes to leverage Minecraft and make it “the world’s creator platform” to help Xbox reach its lofty engaged daily users goals.
Although we haven’t seen any significant changes or updates to Minecraft that seem to connect to that goal just yet, the game is continuing to evolve and update at its usual cadence. The latest big update just arrived with the drop of Minecraft Bedrock Edition 26.40.
“It’s time for another Minecraft: Bedrock Edition update! This release brings a wide range of bug fixes, gameplay improvements, accessibility updates, and technical enhancements for creators. From boats requiring fewer hits to break, to minecarts back in order, there’s plenty packed into this release. If you’re keen to see what’s coming next, you’ll also find experimental features to try out, including the dappled forest, abandoned camps, cushions, and more. Let’s dive in.”
Here’s a full breakdown of the biggest changes that users will notice after installing the update:
Drop 3 Experimental Features
Abandoned Camp
- The Abandoned Camp structure is a new kind of structure which can be found in the following biomes:
- Meadow
- Cherry Grove
- Forest
- Birch Forest
- Old Growth Birch Forest
- Flower Forest
- Windswept Forest
- Dappled Forest
- Taiga
- Snowy Taiga
- Old Growth Spruce Taiga
- Old Growth Pine Taiga
- Sparse Jungle
- Bamboo Jungle
- Swamp
- Savanna
- Wooded Badlands
- Pale Garden
- Each of these biomes has its own variant of the structure with design based on that biome
- Certain structure pieces are generic for all biome variants of the structure
- Various Chests and Barrels with loot can be found at Abandoned Camps
- Abandoned camp now generates in Pale Garden and Flower Forest biomes (MCPE-240024) (MCPE-240045)
- Straw Beds can now be found in Abandoned Camps
- Updated Abandoned Camps to place procedural trees
- Fixed wrong potion names in the loot tables for the Abandoned Camp
Dappled Forest
- The Dappled Forest is a new type of forest biome which can be found near cold biomes
- Poplar Trees and fallen Poplar Trees generate here
- Shelf Mushrooms can be found here, placed on Poplar Trees and fallen Poplar Trees
- Red Shrubs generate here
- The following passive and neutral mobs spawn in the Dappled Forest, using their cold variants where applicable:
- Sheep
- Chicken
- Cow
- Pig
- Rabbit
- Fox
- A Dappled Forest variant of the new Abandoned Camp structure can be found here
- Changed biome fog settings to match other forest biomes
- Updated Orange, Red & Yellow Poplar Leaves MERS textures
Graphical
- Added opaque versions to the Poplar leaves to fix black background issue (MCPE-240020)
- Added hinges to Poplar door icon. Also removed 3 pixels from top door texture that didn’t match the palette
- Fixed Poplar sign texture to follow other sign assets
Poplar Trees
- Added the Poplar Tree to the game
- A new type of tree in the Dappled Forest which comes in three color variations:
- Red Poplar Leaves
- Orange Poplar Leaves
- Yellow Poplar Leaves
- Each variant of the tree has its own variant of falling leaf particles matching the color of the leaves
- Poplar Leaves drop Poplar Saplings which will randomly grow into any of the three different variants
- Poplar Saplings can be found in trades with Wandering Trader
- Shelf Mushrooms and Leaf Litter naturally generates on and around Poplar Trees
- The trunk of the trees are made of Poplar Logs
- Poplar Logs can be crafted into a new set of Poplar wood blocks
- Forest ambience sounds are tied to the Poplar Leaf blocks
- Known issue: Some Vibrant Visuals settings are currently not being applied correctly to Poplar Leaf blocks
Red Shrub
- Red Shrub is a new type of decorative plant block that can be found in small patches in the Dappled Forest
- Can be used in the Composter
- Using Bone Meal on a Red Shrub grows a Red Shrub in a random adjacent space if possible
Shelf Mushroom
- A new type of mushroom that generates on Poplar Trees and fallen Poplar Trees
- Can be found in two sizes, small and large
- A small Shelf Mushroom can be grown into a large Shelf Mushroom using Bone Meal
- A large Shelf Mushroom drops two Shelf Mushroom items when broken
- Can be used like other mushrooms to make Stews
- Can be found in trades with Wandering Trader
- Shelf Mushroom has a slight bounciness when stepped on, similar to Beds
Sounds
- Updated ambient sounds for Poplar leaf blocks
- Added custom sound events for Red Shrubs and Poplar leaf blocks
Blocks
- Added Wool Stair blocks and Wool Slab blocks of the following colors:
- Black
- Blue
- Brown
- Cyan
- Gray
- Green
- Light Blue
- Light Gray
- Lime
- Magenta
- Orange
- Pink
- Purple
- Red
- White
- Yellow
Cushion
- The Cushion is an item that the player can place in the world and interact with to sit on
- Can be crafted in 16 colored variants
- Cushions are crafted using 3 Wool Slabs of the same color
- Known Issue: Cushions aren’t currently generating in the Abandoned Camps, but can be found in the creative inventory
Cushion Placement Rules
- A cushion can be placed on any flat surface
- Cushions always align horizontally to the grid, but vertically sit on top of the supporting surface
- Cushions cannot move
- Cushions break if the supporting block is removed
- Cushions do not have collision and can overlap with other objects (except other cushions)
Straw Bed
- Straw Bed is a new type of bed which can be used to sleep through the night without setting your spawn point
- It can only be used once and will be destroyed after use
- It can not be used in the Nether or The End and will be destroyed if you try to sleep on it there
- It is crafted using 3 Hay Bales and will give you 4 Straw Beds
That’s a ton to take in, but it should be everything players need to know about the new experimental features that are available to check out in the latest Bedrock Edition update.
Be sure to check back soon for lots more Minecraft news and updates.
Minecraft is available now on PC, consoles, and mobile devices.
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