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, others were in the game for years before being quietly removed. Many veteran players will remember one feature or another that no longer exists. Thanks to preserved older versions, you can still experience many of these things today. We’ll look at the most interesting features, why they’re gone, and when they were available.
1. Minecraft Far Lands: bug from early world generation
Version: Infdev 2010-03-27 to Beta 1.7.3
The Far Lands were never an intended Minecraft feature but rather a corruption in world generation when traveling beyond 12 million blocks. Of course, a typical player would never get that far, but the glitch was discovered in some of the game’s earliest versions. It was fixed with the update to Beta 1.8 and the subsequent full release, even if the world still behaves oddly millions of blocks away from spawn.
2. Minecraft rubies: early emeralds as Villager currency
Version: Snapshot 12w21a (Version 1.3)
Yes, rubies did exist in Minecraft—if only for a single snapshot in 2012. They were initially planned as currency for trading with Villagers, but were replaced in the very next snapshot by the familiar green emeralds. Rubies were likely too similar to redstone, which would have caused confusion underground. Interestingly, the old ruby texture remained in the files until 2021 in Version 1.17.
3. Minecraft gears: precursors 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 features we know today. Notch likely then had the idea to replace them with Redstone, which remains one of the most popular systems in the game. Who knows where Minecraft would have gone if gears had been the path instead.
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 seen in Minecraft. They appeared in some of the early Indev versions and were huge—practically impossible to miss. With a footprint of 127x127 blocks and a height of 64 blocks, they towered over everything around them. They were also completely solid, equating to about 344,000 bricks. Such a build was of course excessive and likely meant as a test, but it 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 tool from Indev. Pressing F7 would capture an image of the entire world from an isometric perspective. With limited world size, these images were easier to generate, but the feature could still work today by capping image dimensions. Worlds with floating and vertically stacked islands look especially cool. This 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 arrived with the Alpha 1.2 Halloween Update, a generated world had a 25% chance to become a winter landscape. The entire world was covered in snow, it snowed constantly, and water gradually froze. It was a refreshing change from Alpha’s neon-green grass. The one big drawback was probably sugar cane, which was extremely rare in such worlds.
7. Minecraft Super Secret Settings and 3D Anaglyph shaders
Version: 1.7.2 (Snapshot 13w38a) to 1.9 (Snapshot 15w31a)
The Super Secret Settings stuck around much longer and could be found in the video settings. At the press of a button, players could cycle through various visual modes, some more practical than others. From a 3D glasses mode (3D anaglyph) to a CRT TV look and outline shaders, there were quirky, useless, and sometimes demanding effects to try. The shaders were fully removed only in 2024, despite having gone unused for about a decade.
8. Minecraft old sounds: nostalgic audio before Release 1.0
Version: all versions before Release 1.0
Players from the early Alpha and Beta days will remember many of the old sounds that were removed during the transition to the full release. While some sounds lingered a bit longer, there are now hardly any traces of Minecraft’s old soundscape left. From Steve’s iconic “ow” to the old Creeper explosion, nothing 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, some players might not realize that chainmail armor exists in Minecraft. You can only get it via trading with Villagers or rarely in Woodland Mansions. There used to be a crafting recipe for it, though it was quite unusual. Previously, you could craft chainmail armor using the fire item, although it wasn’t exactly clear how you were meant to obtain fire in survival. The recipe was removed when fire was reworked in Version 1.8 and the item itself was deleted.
10. Minecraft enchanted golden apple: crafting in early versions
Version: Snapshot 12w21a (Version 1.3.1) to Snapshot 15w44a (Version 1.9)
Finally, the enchanted golden apple—now an extremely rare item that you could craft yourself for roughly three years. The recipe required 8 full gold blocks, making it very expensive, but it was integrated directly into normal gameplay. Its effects were likely deemed too strong, which is why it can now only be found as loot.
Conclusion: removed Minecraft features in retrospect
Minecraft’s early development and evolution are fascinating, revealing many features that laid the groundwork for today’s systems. Whether gears, which became Redstone, or Winter Mode as a precursor to biomes—there was a lot of experimentation. That also includes intriguing things like hidden video settings, isometric screenshots, and long-forgotten recipes.
Thanks to the version selector in the launcher, you can experience old Minecraft features yourself. Rent your own Minecraft server and dive into the game’s past together with friends.
