1.4

Minecraft 1.4, the Pretty Scary Update, was released near Halloween and added the Wither boss, witches, and the powerful anvil and beacon. It was released on October 25, 2012 as one of the game's numbered feature updates.

At its heart, 1.4 is a Halloween update built around bosses, dread, and new tools. The standout addition is the Wither boss summoned from soul sand and wither skulls, plus beacons. Named for its Halloween-themed mobs and released as a darker, combat-focused update.

This page breaks 1.4 down into 10 headline features, 4 notable gameplay or technical changes and 2 documented fixes, and a plain-language summary of why the update matters. Java Edition is the original PC version of Minecraft, available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The most talked-about part of the Pretty Scary Update update is the Wither boss summoned from soul sand and wither skulls, plus beacons.

In full, 1.4 adds wither boss and Wither Skeletons, beacons, anvils for repairing and renaming items, Flower Pots, Item Frames, carrots, Potatoes, and Pumpkin Pie, bats, and witches, with several further additions listed on the right. Together these are what make Pretty Scary Update worth updating to, and each appears in the Major Features list on this page.

Beyond new content, 1.4 reworks how parts of the game behave. The notable changes include night vision and invisibility potions, new death messages, zombies can pick up and wear armor, and difficulty lock per world. Adjustments of this kind reshape day-to-day play for existing worlds as much as new ones.

On the bug-fixing side, 1.4 resolves fixed several duplication glitches and improved mob spawning mechanics. Fixes like these remove long-standing frustrations without altering how the game is meant to be played.

To play Minecraft 1.4 on Java Edition, open the official Minecraft Launcher, select the Java Edition tab, and use the version dropdown beside the Play button to choose 1.4. As a full release it appears in the standard release list by default.

Before updating an existing world to 1.4, it is good practice to copy the save folder first. Worlds from 1.3 upgrade in place, but newly generated chunks will use 1.4's world generation while older chunks keep their original terrain.