Why it matters: Minecraft is one of only two games to have sold more than 100 million units worldwide (the other is Tetris). When a big update like this arrives, people take notice.

Phase one of Minecraft's watery Update Aquatic dropped anchor in May and now, a whole new wave of features have washed ashore as part of the just-released second chapter.

Phase two introduces a multitude of new in-game features including underwater zombies known as The Drowned, gentle sea turtles, nautilus shells, bubble columns and the ability to construct underwater conduits. A host of other changes are listed below:

  • Changed the menu background to be themed for Update Aquatic
  • Undead mobs will now sink in water and can walk on the bottom
  • Improved the steering of Boats when using keyboard and mouse by pressing W to move forward and S to reverse
  • Dolphins can now be given Raw Fish or Raw Salmon and will swim towards the nearest Ocean Ruins or Shipwreck
  • Husks that have sunk in water will now transform into Zombies and Zombies will transform into Drowned
  • Skeleton Horses can now be ridden underwater
  • Skeletons and Strays will switch from ranged to melee attacks while underwater and switch back when out of water
  • Coral blocks will no longer die as long as one side is touching water
  • Improved player swimming at the surface of water
  • Tridents can now be enchanted with Mending and Unbreaking
  • Added an animation when using Riptide in first person perspective
  • Slightly decreased the friction of Blue Ice
  • Updated the texture of the top of Kelp
  • Updated the texture of Cooked Fish
  • Updated the Riptide spin texture
  • Default Field of View has been reduced from 70 to 60 and can be adjusted in Video Settings
  • Tridents will no longer break blocks in Creative mode
  • The Inventory button has been moved to the top of the Store page

Gamers on Windows 10, VR, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices should see the update rolling out from today. Those using Minecraft: Java Edition can try the latest pre-release as the development team works to put the finishing touches on Update Aquatic.