Minecraft Preview 26.60.29 is live on the Bedrock editions, and it brings the frozen underground biome revealed at Minecraft Live into testable form. The build opens up the Ice Caves, hanging Icicles, glowing Ice Crystals, and a hostile zombie variant called the Frostbite. These are experimental features tied to the 26.4 update, which is set to release in December 2026.
Quick answer: Install Minecraft Preview 26.60.29 on a Bedrock edition and enable the experimental features for a new world to explore the Ice Caves biome and encounter the Frostbite.
What the Ice Caves biome contains
The newly added Ice Cave biome forms beneath colder parts of the Overworld, alongside established cave types such as dripstone and lush caves. Packed Ice and Calcite make up most of its terrain, with Icicles jutting down from above and snow patches spread across the floor.
Scattered through the biome are Ice Crystals, which grow from the ground and act as a faint light source block. Ore generation still works here, with Stone and Deepslate pockets holding the ores you mine, surrounded by ice that breaks easily.
Some blocks you would normally see in a cave are missing. The Ice Caves do not generate Dirt, Granite, or Glow Lichen.
- Packed Ice and Calcite form the main body of the biome.
- Icicles hang from the ceiling and can be placed on the floor by players.
- Ice Crystals glow faintly and can be stood on and harvested.
- Stone and Deepslate hold the ores available for mining.
With enough torches and high enough light levels, Icicles can dislodge from the ceiling and fall, dealing damage to anyone standing beneath them.
The Frostbite, a zombie built for the cold
The Frostbite is a new zombie variant designed for these frozen caves. It can switch between melee and ranged attacks, which makes it more dangerous than a standard shambling zombie.
In melee, it relies on basic punches, but those hits can apply the Freezing mob effect. At range, the Frostbite hurls Ice Balls that knock you back and deal more damage the closer you are standing when they land.
Alongside the Frostbite, the usual cave mobs still appear in these depths, including spiders, skeletons, and ordinary zombies.
How the Freezing effect works and how to counter it
The Freezing effect makes your character shake, lowers your jump height, and gradually freezes you before it starts dealing damage. It stacks pressure onto cave navigation, where vertical terrain is already a risk.
Wearing leather armor stops the freezing from actually harming you. It does not block the effect from being applied in the first place, so you will still see it register even while protected.
Ice Balls and the potion of Freezing
Defeating a Frostbite drops Ice Balls, giving you a reason to hunt the mob rather than avoid it. These serve as a brewing ingredient for the potion of Freezing, so clearing out Frostbites feeds directly into cold-themed potion crafting.
Zombies and Husks can turn into Frostbites
Frostbites are not limited to natural spawns. Zombies and Husks that walk into Powder Snow transform into Frostbites, mirroring the way regular Zombies convert into Drowned in water.
All of these additions are experimental and aimed at the 26.4 update, which is scheduled to arrive in December 2026. Testing them now in Preview 26.60.29 gives you an early look at the biome, the mob, and the mechanics before they are finalized.
