“The Sift” is set to become the fourth dimension in the blocky world, alongside the Overworld, the Nether, and the End.
Every kid knows that the “world” of Minecraft consists of three dimensions: the Overworld, the Nether, and the End. Nothing has changed since the game’s release in 2011.
However, it was recently announced on the official Minecraft livestream that this three-dimensionality will soon come to an end. The block-based game is getting a new addition in the form of “The Sift.”
Perhaps the biggest update since the Nether
The Sift is the name of the new dimension in Minecraft. There hasn’t been a detailed presentation yet, but at least there’s a short teaser that gives you a taste of what to expect (timecode 23:54):
What you see is an almost idyllic landscape with bright pink grass, a turquoise sky, and a blue rabbit—pretty much the opposite of the lava-flooded Nether, where you can meet a gruesome death at every turn.
When it was added to the alpha version of Minecraft more than 16 years ago, the comparison to hell was obvious—not least because it was based on a map theme called “Hell.” Fans speculated at the time that a “Heaven” dimension would be added as a counterpart, but that never happened. Instead, the End marked the final great battle and the literal end of Minecraft.
With the Sift, a new dimension is now on the horizon for the first time since The End, filling this previously vacant space. By the way, players diving into Minecraft: Dungeons 2 will get their first glimpse of it.
There, you’ll also be able to explore the Sift starting September 29, 2026, and the livestream above already offers a few more detailed glimpses [timecode: 10:05].
The new dimension is—much like the Nether—significantly more fragmented than the relatively flat Overworld. It features chasms, towering structures, and countless small puddles. It’s teeming with new creatures and plants, and new biomes await in the Sift, including the Meadows and a Bone Desert.
The Sift is set to finally make its way into the Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft in 2027; an exact date has not yet been announced.
