Do you remember the Minecraft Mob Vote? It was an annual event for Minecraft Live, during which the community voted on one of three mobs to be added to Minecraft. Year after year — one winner, and two losers to rot in the dreaded Minecraft vault.
The Mob Vote was so divisive for introducing new mobs that would likely never be seen in-game that Mojang Studios completely killed it off last year. Now, we're getting a new development: a long-lost Mob Vote loser is actually coming to Minecraft in the third update of 2025.
The Copper Golem was defeated in the final round of the Minecraft Live 2021 Mob Vote by our blue friend the Allay, and it was assumed we'd never see it again. Now we know the Copper Golem is coming to Minecraft... and Mojang is actually trying to make copper useful in the process.
I hope this sets a precedent, because there are a lot of Mob Vote losers that millions of people would love to see coming to Minecraft.
A new friend and some new tools
The next Minecraft update doesn't have a name yet, but we do know the first features included in this upcoming game drop. The news comes only weeks after we got the Minecraft Vibrant Visuals and Happy Ghast dual update, so Mojang has some good momentum going right now.
You already know the headliner for this release — the Copper Golem is coming, so we're getting a new metallic friend to join our Iron Golem protectors. The Copper Golem doesn't have a mean bone in its body, though, and is content to organize, organize, organize.
Alongside the Copper Golem, Mojang is also introducing the copper chest, a new chest variant. Put items into a copper chest, and nearby Copper Golems will pick up those items and move them to regular chests in the area.
Copper Golems will seek out chests with the item they're holding to consolidate, and will put new items in any empty chests. It's a way to automate the nightmarish mess you call storage and restore some semblance of order.
I think the Copper Golems are adorable, and just like other copper blocks (and the copper chests, too), they'll oxidize and slowly turn green over time, unless you wax them to preserve their current sheen.
You can create quite the diverse array of copper-y friends to roam around your warehouse or home. I'm really excited to see how this feature works and how Mojang may evolve it over the coming weeks and months.
That's not all that's coming in this update, though. Copper ore has gained a reputation for being practically useless, with only a handful of incredibly niche applications making the momentous addition of a brand-new ore severely disappointing.
This copper-themed update is attempting to rectify that! Beyond the Copper Golems and their specific functions, we're getting new ways to use all that copper ore you totally ignore when mining.
Yes, we're getting a full set of copper armor, weapons, and tools! Apart from the shiny new look, copper tools and armor sit somewhere between stone and iron overall, potentially letting you save your valuable early-game iron for more important crafts until you've accummulated more.
I don't know exactly how much people will actually use this gear, but I'm just excited to see copper actually be used for something. With Copper Golems, it finally feels like copper somewhat has a place in the game.
I also hope this means Mojang Studios is evaluating bringing other Mob Vote losers to Minecraft and working to empty the vault, because there are a lot of great ideas that were abandoned to farm community engagement.
You can test these new features right now
You don't have to wait to experience the Copper Golems and other metallic additions, as Mojang Studios has already released the first Minecraft Preview build testing these developments.
You can read the full changelog for Minecraft Preview 1.21.100.23 at Minecraft.net, or jump straight to your Xbox, Windows PC, or Android device to download the release. Mojang says a Minecraft: Java Edition snapchost is coming soon, but those players will have to wait a while longer.
I expect this update to be in development for at least a couple of months, so we could be looking at a fall release for this Minecraft game drop. What do you think about the features? Personally, I'm excited.
