Despite its somewhat off-putting name, the Minecraft sniffer went ahead and stole an overwhelming victory in the 2022 Minecraft Live mob vote. Over 50% of us (myself included) voted for the ancient mob, leaving Mojang Studios to bring it back to life sometime in 2023. No doubt part of the reason the sniffer won by a landslide is the new plant mechanics that are set to come with it.
While we still don’t know much about the Minecraft sniffer, and the new mob is in very early development, a recent leak shows the newest of Minecraft mobs is bigger than you might have expected, but still just as cute. So as we look forward to the Sniffer’s arrival into one of the best PC games of the last decade, here’s everything we know about it so far.
Minecraft sniffer release date speculation
At the moment, we don’t know exactly when the sniffer will be coming to Minecraft, other than that it will be sometime in 2023. As the development team won’t have done much work on the mob prior to the mob vote – they wouldn’t want to waste time on the two that didn’t get in, after all – we know the mob will be in early development, and will likely be a way off. However, previous mob vote winners have been added to the following major update, so we could expect the sniffer to be added with the Minecraft 1.20 update, hopefully around June 2023.
How to spawn a Minecraft sniffer
Sniffers will not spawn naturally in the overworld like most Minecraft mobs, but will instead need to hatched from eggs. This is most likely due to the lore of the four-legged monster, which states that it is ancient and extinct. We’ll be tasked with bringing it back to life by hatching said eggs, presumably laid centuries ago… if we can find them.
Even though the Sniffer is still in early development, Mojang Studios 3D artist Chi tweeted some footage of the sniffer. The new mob appeared bigger than many players were expecting, not that that’s a bad thing, and is even taller than the player character. However, the current model is subject to change due to feedback, so if you want to see it maybe a bit shorter and fatter (hint hint!), then get your feedback in to Mojang.
Where to find Minecraft sniffer eggs
In order to get this new mob into your overworld, and the new plant life it will bring with it, you will need to hatch it from eggs that are found in very specific locations – underwater ruins. Even though the sniffer appears to live on land once hatched, its eggs can only be discovered in the ruins of ancient cities, left to rot in the depths of the ocean. They’re often fiercely guarded by Drowned, though, so it won’t be easy to bring sniffers back into existence.
We don’t yet know whether you will be able to breed two adult sniffers once you have found and hatched them, or whether they are truly only available from these long-forgotten eggs, but we’ll find put once this spectacular mob is added to the game.
Minecraft sniffer behaviour and new plant life
We also know from the initial sniffer reveal video that the new mob just loves plant life, and its powerful sniffing of local flora is probably how it got its name. When the sniffer is added to Minecraft, there will also be new seeds added, as the ancient creature sniffs plants so hard, it pulls seeds out of them, ready to be planted and breed new green life.
There will also be a new flower added to the game, though we don’t know what this will look like or be called just yet. However, a green, drooping flower appeared in the clip above, hinting that this could be the new addition to our arable collection.
If you’re like us and just can’t wait for the new mob to be released into the game, distract yourself by checking out more about what else is to come on the Minecraft 1.20 release date, including the Minecraft camel, and find out how to play Minecraft snapshots so you can playtest these features early.
