Today is a big day for Minecraft players enrolled in the Minecraft: Bedrock Edition betas. With the latest Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Beta 1.17.0.50, the Nether Update branch is officially no more. Instead, the 1.16 branch makes way for the massive upcoming Caves and Cliffs Update and the 1.17 branch. Moving forward, Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Betas should include far more features for players to test as development peaks on the first phase of the Caves and Cliffs Update.

The Caves and Cliffs Update is going to be one of the most ambitious releases for Minecraft yet. Unfortunately, Mojang Studios just announced that the Caves and Cliffs Update is being split into two parts and partially delayed. The first half, which is being openly tested in the latest Minecraft Beta, should arrive sometime this summer. The release date of the Caves and Cliffs Update's second part isn't set in stone yet, but should arrive hopefully by the end of 2021.

The 1.17.0.50 Beta brings a ton of Caves and Cliffs Update features out of Minecraft: Bedrock Edition's "Experimental Features" toggle alongside lots of tweaks and changes. There's also a collection of new features that can only be found by enabling "Experimental Features" like amethyst geodes and more.

This update adds lush caves, geodes, amethyst, spyglass, and so much more!