Minecraft Developers Reflect on the Game’s Most Infamous Bugs and How They Shaped Its Future

After more than a decade of updates, expansions, and countless player-made creations, Minecraft has had its fair share of strange and unexpected bugs. Recently, Mojang took fans behind the scenes in a new video, revealing how some of these notorious glitches came to be—and how they were eventually fixed. From quirky minecart physics to squids taking flight, these bugs have become a memorable part of the game’s legacy.

Bugs are a common occurrence in any large-scale software project, and with a sandbox game as expansive as Minecraft, it's no surprise that the occasional coding hiccup leads to unintended behaviour. With so many interlocking systems and over ten years of ongoing development, even the smallest oversight can result in bizarre gameplay moments. Interestingly, a number of Minecraft’s bugs have gone on to influence the development of actual in-game features. One standout example: a trick involving side-by-side minecarts used to generate extra speed—an unintended mechanic that ultimately inspired the addition of powered rails.

Some of the most entertaining errors happened early on. The Creeper, one of the game's most recognizable mobs, actually began as a coding mistake. Notch, the game’s original creator, was attempting to model a pig but ended up with a vertically stretched version due to a typo. Rather than discard the mistake, he adapted it into a brand-new creature—now a defining symbol of Minecraft.

In the recent developer video, longtime Mojang team member and lead creative designer Jeb shared some of the most memorable bugs from his early work. One highlight involved the squid mob, which was originally based on the cow's model. Jeb forgot to remove the cow’s milking mechanic, leading to a period when squids could inexplicably be milked by players. Squids also developed a reputation for being particularly buggy: a flaw in their movement code caused them to float through the air during the game’s early builds—leading to the now-legendary “flying squid” bug.

Image Courtesy: TheGamer

These strange moments have even fed into the game’s folklore. The infamous Herobrine myth—an eerie, fan-invented tale about a ghostly figure lurking in Minecraft worlds—was fuelled by the game's tendency to behave unpredictably. While Mojang has repeatedly confirmed that Herobrine was never real, the legend lives on in community stories and mods.

Despite ongoing fixes, Minecraft still experiences odd bugs from time to time, particularly in the Bedrock Edition, which some players criticize for being more unstable than the Java version. Still, Mojang continues to engage with its enormous player base, using community feedback to track down elusive bugs and sometimes turning accidents into inspiration.

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---Silviya.Y