Last week, Notch implemented version 3 of the 1.9 Update Pre-release. While version 3 featured item enchantments, baby animals, and simplified potion brewing system, many fans still had one major question. When will the official Minecraft 1.9 Update release?
As rumors and confustion circulate amongst Minecraft fans, Mojang developer Jens Bergensten has attempted to keep fans updated with a prospective release date. Bergenstein originally tweeted, "Yes 1.9 should be out before oct 18th, ie. next week… Not that we've ever missed deadlines before, right? ;)"
Well it appears as if Mojang will miss another Minecraft deadline. It looks like Minecraft 1.9 Update will be pushed back into November, potentially coinciding with MineCon and the official Minecraft launch.
Jens followed up later in the day with another tweet, “At today’s meeting @notch suggested that should keep doing prereleases all the way to Minecon, so my previous tweet about 1.9 is obsolete 😀 ” Bergenstein later explained, "Notch wanted to wait with the update until Minecon."
That pushes the Minecraft 1.9 Update all the way back until MineCon in November 18th and 19th, when the first official Minecraft convention will be held in Las Vegas.
Of course, nothing is ever confirmed until spoken…er, tweeted by Notch himself. When asked by Tom Hall if he will have the 1.9 update out "within the next eight days, ja? Pretty Please?", Notch replied "We've got a feature freeze in a week, after that we're doing polishing and optimization for a month. Not sure if we can release". Notch did drop a hint though, "If you drop by the MineCon (HINT, HINT, PLEASE COME), you'll get it for sure. ;D".
Looks like MineCon attendees have will have first access to the official Minecraft game, including Update 1.9.