Minecraft Dappled Forest Preview | Poplar Trees, Sitting Mechanic, and Abandoned Camps Arrive

The Overworld is finally getting a touch of autumn. On June 23, 2026, Mojang officially released Minecraft Preview 26.40.27 for Bedrock Edition, alongside corresponding Java Edition snapshots, pulling back the curtain on a major upcoming content drop for Minecraft.

The highlight of the update is a picturesque new biome called the Dappled Forest, complete with a stunning array of foliage, cozy new survival structures, and a feature players have been requesting for nearly two decades: the ability to actually sit down.

Exploring the Dappled Forest Biome | Autumn Arrives in Vanilla Minecraft

For years, players looking for a true autumn aesthetic had to rely on community-made texture packs or mods. The Dappled Forest officially brings those warm, seasonal colors directly into vanilla Minecraft.

Poplar Trees and Built-In Shading | Three Leaf Colors, One New Wood Type

The defining feature of the biome is the introduction of the Poplar Tree. Unlike traditional Minecraft trees, Poplars generate with three distinct, vibrant leaf variations: Red, Orange, and Yellow. Each tree variant drops matching, color-specific falling leaf particles, adding a heavy sense of atmosphere to the forest floor. When you plant a Poplar Sapling, it has a random chance to grow into any of the three color variants, allowing players to easily cultivate diverse, multi-colored orchards.

Harvesting Poplar trees yields Poplar Logs, which can be crafted into a brand-new, gray-toned wood palette. Early builders are already noting that the gray wood pairs perfectly with spruce blocks for rustic designs, filling a long-standing gap in Minecraft's building material options.

Forest Floor Flora and Fauna | Red Shrubs, Shelf Mushrooms, and Leaf Litter

The biome typically generates adjacent to colder regions, serving as a visual transition between moderate and snowy climates. The forest floor is heavily decorated with Red Shrubs (a new decorative plant that can be spread using bone meal) and Leaf Litter scattered across the ground. Logs and living trees host Shelf Mushrooms, which come in small and large sizes and can be accelerated in growth using bone meal. Standard passive mobs like sheep, cows, foxes, and pigs spawn here, utilizing their cold-weather variants where applicable.

Cozying Up | The Abandoned Camp Structure

Scattered throughout the Dappled Forest — as well as other biomes like Meadows, Taigas, and the recently added Pale Garden — is a brand-new procedural generation structure: the Abandoned Camp.

These camps feature left-behind chests and barrels containing valuable survival loot. They also act as storytelling set pieces, hinting at the journeys of previous, unseen adventurers who passed through the area. Within these camps, players can find a new block variant called the Straw Bed, which allows players to skip the night without resetting their primary spawn point — a quality-of-life feature that explorers have wanted for years.

Finally, A Way to Sit | Wool Slabs, Stairs, and Cushions

Perhaps the biggest gameplay milestone hidden within Preview 26.40.27 is the end of a 17-year-old running joke within the Minecraft community. Since the game's inception, players have had to awkwardly crouch on stairs, ride in boats, or position invisible minecarts just to simulate sitting down in a chair.

That era is officially over. The update introduces a complete set of Wool Stairs and Wool Slabs available in all 16 classic Minecraft colors. By combining three matching Wool Slabs, players can now craft a Cushion.

These cushions feature a dedicated button-tufted design in the center and can be placed on top of any block. Interacting with a cushion triggers a true sitting animation, allowing players to properly relax around their newly discovered campfires, build functional dining rooms, and decorate their bases with unparalleled cozy realism. For a community that has built entire furniture catalogs out of stairs, signs, and trapdoors, the Cushion represents one of the most personally satisfying quality-of-life additions in Minecraft's history.