Minecraft celebrates 15 years of existence with a ton of gorgeous new pixelated paintings — and there's more music, too

Zachary Boddy
·2 min read
Image of new paintings and music in Minecraft.
Image of new paintings and music in Minecraft.

What you need to know

  • Minecraft will officially be turning 15 years old on May 17, and Mojang Studios is celebrating.

  • The 1.21 'Tricky Trials' update coming later this year will include 15 brand-new paintings from artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand, giving players way more options for decoration.

  • Players can now test the new paintings as well as nine new background music tracks and three new music discs in the latest Minecraft Preview.

  • The Tricky Trials Update for Minecraft doesn't have a release date yet, but we likely don't have much longer to wait.

2024 is a big year for Minecraft — halfway through May, the legendary survival crafting game will be turning 15-years-old. It's a major milestone for the best-selling video game of all time, and Mojang Studios certainly isn't letting this year slide by without celebrating the occasion. On Wednesday, the studio revealed the first (that we know of) part of this celebration. Minecraft is getting new paintings.

Created by artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand, Minecraft is getting 15 new pixelated paintings to join the five already confirmed to be added with the upcoming Minecraft 1.21 'Tricky Trials' update coming later this year. That major content update isn't available to everyone, yet, but you can test the new paintings and more in the latest Minecraft Preview detailed on Minecraft.net.

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That's not all Mojang Studios is testing in the latest Minecraft beta. In addition to the 15 new paintings celebrating 15 years for one of the best Xbox games, Mojang Studios is also adding three new music discs that can be discovered in Trial Chambers. On top of that, nine biomes are getting new background music tracks to add more ambiance and atmosphere.

Mojang Studios is also testing plenty of changes for Tricky Trials features like Trials and Ominous Trials, Copper Trapdoors, Maces, and more. These are smaller, less interesting changes but will ultimately make the upcoming update more balanced and fun for players. It's possible that Mojang Studios has other plans to celebrate Minecraft's 15-year anniversary, too, but we may have to wait longer to hear about them.

In case you missed it, the Minecraft 1.21 update now has an official name, although it'll be a little smaller than we expected thanks to the surprise release of the Armored Paws update earlier. If you want to know more about the Tricky Trials Update and everything surrounding, you can check out our comprehensive Minecraft 1.21 'Tricky Trials' update FAQ.