With more than fifteen years of development, it’s no surprise that some features didn’t make it into today’s version of Minecraft. While some were just tests and small ideas, other features were in the game for years before being quietly removed. Many long-time players will remember one or two functions that no longer exist. Thanks to the preservation of old versions, you can still take a look at many of these things today. We’ll explore the most interesting features, why they’re gone, and the timeframes in which they were available.
1. Minecraft Far Lands: a bug from early world generation
Version: Infdev 2010-03-27 to Beta 1.7.3
The Far Lands were never an intended feature of Minecraft, but rather a corruption in world generation when travelling more than 12 million blocks from spawn. Of course, no ordinary player was ever going to make it that far, but the issue was still discovered in some of Minecraft’s earliest versions. It was fixed with the Beta 1.8 update and the subsequent full release, although the world still behaves oddly millions of blocks from spawn even today.
2. Minecraft rubies: early emeralds as villager currency
Version: Snapshot 12w21a (version 1.3)
Yes, rubies did exist in Minecraft—albeit only for a single snapshot in 2012. They were initially intended as currency for villagers, but were replaced in the very next snapshot by the familiar green emeralds. Rubies were presumably too similar to redstone, which would have caused confusion underground. The old ruby texture, incidentally, remained in the files until 2021 with version 1.17.
3. Minecraft gears: forerunner to Redstone and automation
Version: Indev 2010-01-30
Gears were one of the first ideas for implementing automation and circuits in Minecraft. Even though they existed only briefly, they laid the foundation for many of today’s well-known functions. Notch likely then had the idea to replace them with Redstone, which remains one of the game’s most beloved features. Who knows where Minecraft would have gone had gears been the path chosen back then.
4. Minecraft brick pyramid: monumental Indev structure
Version: Infdev 2010-02-27-1414 to Infdev 2010-03-27
The brick pyramids are among the most impressive structures ever to appear in Minecraft. They showed up in several early Indev versions and were so huge you could hardly miss them. At 127x127 blocks wide and 64 blocks tall, they towered over everything around them. They were also completely solid, amounting to roughly 344,000 bricks. Such a build was clearly over the top and likely intended as a test, but it certainly left a lasting impression.
5. Minecraft isometric screenshots: F7 world capture in Indev
Version: all Indev versions
A feature many would still love today is the isometric screenshot from the Indev era. Pressing F7 created a capture of the entire world from an isometric perspective. With a limited world size, producing such images was naturally easier, but you could still implement this today by constraining image dimensions. Worlds with floating and vertically aligned islands look especially cool in these shots. That alone makes a trip back to the Indev versions worthwhile.
6. Minecraft winter mode: permanent snow world before biomes
Version: Alpha v1.0.4 to Alpha v1.1.2_01
Before rudimentary biomes were added with the Alpha 1.2 Halloween Update, a generated world had a 25% chance to spawn as a winter landscape. In these worlds, the entire surface is covered in snow, it snows constantly, and water gradually freezes over. It was a refreshing change from Alpha’s neon-green grass. The only real issue was probably sugar cane, which was extremely rare in such worlds.
7. Minecraft Super Secret Settings and 3D anaglyph shader
Version: 1.7.2 (Snapshot 13w38a) to 1.9 (Snapshot 15w31a)
The Super Secret Settings were in the game for much longer and could be found in the video settings. With a single click you could cycle through various graphical modes, some more useful than others. From a 3D glasses mode (3D anaglyph) to a CRT TV effect and outlines, there were playful, pointless and sometimes demanding modes to choose from. The shaders were only removed completely in 2024, even though they had gone unused for ten years.
8. Minecraft old sounds: nostalgic audio before Release 1.0
Version: all versions before Release 1.0
Players from the early Alpha and Beta will remember many of the old sounds that were removed during the transition to the full release. While some of the audio lasted even longer, there are now hardly any traces of Minecraft’s original soundscape. From Steve’s iconic “oof” to the creeper’s old explosion sound, none of it remains today.
9. Minecraft crafting chainmail: recipe with fire in Indev
Version: Indev 2010-02-12-1210 to Snapshot 14w25a (version 1.8)
Even today many players likely don’t realise that Minecraft also has chainmail armour. You can only obtain it by trading with villagers or rarely in woodland mansions. There was even a crafting recipe for it—albeit a very unusual one. In the past, you could craft chainmail armour with fire, though where you were meant to obtain fire as an item was another question. The recipe was removed when fire was reworked in version 1.8 and the standalone item was deleted.
10. Minecraft enchanted golden apple: craftable in early versions
Version: Snapshot 12w21a (version 1.3.1) to Snapshot 15w44a (version 1.9)
Finally, a look at the enchanted golden apple, an item that’s extremely rare today but was craftable without issue for about three years. The recipe cost 8 full gold blocks, which was expensive, but it was directly integrated into normal gameplay. Its effects were presumably too strong, which is why it now only appears as loot.
Conclusion: a look back at Minecraft’s removed features
Minecraft’s early development and evolution is a fascinating area, revealing many features that laid the foundations for today’s systems. Whether it’s gears that became Redstone, or winter mode as a precursor to biomes—there was a lot of experimentation. That also includes intriguing touches like hidden graphics settings, isometric screenshots, and long-forgotten recipes.
Thanks to the range of versions available in the launcher, you can experience old Minecraft features for yourself. Rent your own Minecraft server and dive into the game’s past together with friends.
