The Sift is the new dimension that debuted in Minecraft Dungeons II. It is also coming to Minecraft Java and Bedrock as a free update in 2027. During development it was called Wellspring. This page sets out what official sources and the Minecraft Wiki say about the Sift, and keeps our own theories in separate, labeled sections.
The Sift at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | A dimension separate from the Overworld |
| Development codename | Wellspring |
| How to get there | The ancient city portal, opened by a note block melody, or a rift opened by the Grand Illusioner |
| Areas | Singer’s Meadow, Lullaby Hills, The Carapace |
| Unique mechanic | Sift tides, three kinds |
| Coming to Minecraft | 2027, Java and Bedrock, free |
The codename comes from the official YouTube channel. A short published on August 20, 2026 was first titled “Wellspring Gameplay” and was soon renamed “The Sift Gameplay”. The wiki describes the Sift as a world of red and orange stone, green plants, ichor and sculk.
Three areas
| Area | What it looks like | Who lives there |
|---|---|---|
| Singer’s Meadow | Salmon pink sculk ground, tall blue grass, blue trees, ichor pools | The Singer, echo golems, blubs |
| Lullaby Hills | Hill country with an illager stronghold | Echo golems |
| The Carapace | Dry land of blue stone and sand, with giant fossils you can walk into | Sculkers, the Monarch boss |
Singer’s Meadow comes first. The ancient city portal opens into it. The Carapace is also called the Humbler Husklands, after the colossal fossils called humbler husks that stick out of the ground and can be explored from inside.
Game director Mans Olson told Famitsu (September 27, 2026) that the concept artists drew on the film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind for the Sift’s look, along with organic motifs like fungi and slime molds.
What lives there
The Minecraft Wiki groups the Sift’s creatures like this (checked October 4, 2026).
| Group | Names | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Passive | Blub, echo golem, Singer, Lootkin, Nuzzle, Prickle, Slabber, Trill, Tuner, Wobble | Do not attack |
| Sifters | Nester, Pollinator, Seedling, Sentinel, Sprout, minibosses Dartback and Harmonizer | Native enemies |
| Sculkers | Hunter, Scavenger, Stalker, Trapper, boss Monarch | Sculk-related enemies, mostly in The Carapace |
| Other enemies | Bloombud, Fusefly, Hurler, Roamroot | Not grouped as sifters or sculkers |
The blub is the only Sift mob officially named for Minecraft so far (as of October 4, 2026). It is a small rabbit-like mob whose development codename was Jelly Bunny. The default blue blub is the “soul engorged” variant, and it glows. There are also Carapace, Meadows and Ravines variants, and the game files hold an unused Fungal variant. The wiki notes that the blub was nearly cut several times, and that blubs enjoy bathing in ichor.
Where the souls come from and where they go
Souls sit at the center of the Sift’s lore. Putting the wiki’s entries together gives this picture.
The Singer draws souls in with its song and shapes them into soul blocks. A soul block sits on an echo golem’s head and powers it. The echo golem’s codename was Caretaker Golem, and the wiki says it was made to help everyone.
Ichor is a thick, multicolored liquid found in the Sift. Its working name during development was Ouch Water. Heroes and illagers from the Overworld who step in it are set alight with soul fire and lose health and souls. Sift natives are unaffected.
The Sift tides come in three kinds and change how souls build up.
| Tide | Effect |
|---|---|
| Flow | No effect |
| Thrive | Faster soul regeneration and artifact cooldowns |
| Endure | Stronger mobs spawn and passive soul regeneration stops |
For heroes, souls are the fuel for artifacts. They come from defeated mobs, and you start with a cap of 100.
Theory 1: the Sift is built as a wellspring of souls
From here on this is our reading.
We think the codename Wellspring says the Sift was designed as a source of souls. Four details back that up.
- The Singer gathers souls with its song and shapes them into soul blocks
- The default blub is the “soul engorged” variant, and it glows
- Ichor drains souls, and the final boss was built from souls drawn out of the Sift, mainly from its ichor. That reads like ichor itself carries soul energy
- The tides exist to speed up or stop soul regeneration
If that is right, it also explains why the illagers wanted the Sift. In the novel The Rift, they invade it for its resources and its souls.
On the other hand, the official description of the Sift stops at “an uncharted dimension of threats, mysteries, and breathtaking beauty” (minecraft.net). Mojang has not called it a source of souls.
Theory 2: is the Sift dangerous?
This is our reading too.
On the Official XBOX Podcast (September 26, 2026), Laura De Llorens described the Sift as its own independent ecosystem. She explained that some mobs there are adapted to live in things that hurt the player, and that the Sift is neither threatening nor necessarily benevolent.
Ichor only burning outsiders fits that description. The Sift is not hostile. It is simply not made for creatures from outside. In the story, the damage spreads less from the Sift itself than from those who carried its power away. The illagers took the soul blocks and extracted souls from the ichor.
Nausicaä features a forest that is poisonous to people yet serves a purpose for the land. Olson only cited the film for its look, but the Sift’s “dangerous to visitors, not an enemy” character feels like the same idea.
That does not make the Sift harmless. The wiki says the sculk disease that spread into the Overworld started in the Sift. We look at what that means for the warden in the ancient city portal and the singing warden.
What we know about the Sift coming to Minecraft
According to Xbox Wire (September 26, 2026), the Sift arrives in Minecraft Java and Bedrock as a free update in 2027. It will be the first new dimension since the End. Here is what has been announced.
- Two biomes, Meadows and Carapace
- Friendly mobs and hostile mobs
- New hazardous blocks that get in the way of exploring
- Sift tides that also affect players nearby
Footage from Minecraft LIVE in September 2026 showed blubs, healthy sculk ground in salmon pink and orange, and trees with white leaves. Block names have not been published. How players will reach the Sift in Minecraft has not been announced either.
What server owners can prepare
A new dimension adds a new set of world data. Before the 2027 update, a few steps make the move easier.
- Take a full backup of the world
- Decide whether to pre-generate the new dimension. A chunk pre-generator such as Chunky can do it
- Decide whether to hold the update until your mods or plugins support the new dimension
FAQ
- Q. When can I play the Sift in Minecraft?
- A. In 2027. The exact date and which update it ships in have not been announced.
- Q. Do I need Dungeons II to visit the Sift in Minecraft?
- A. No. The Sift is coming to Minecraft as a free update. You need Dungeons II to visit the Dungeons II version.
- Q. Is everything in the Sift hostile?
- A. No. The Singer, echo golems and blubs are among many passive creatures. Mojang has also said the Minecraft version will have friendly mobs.
- Q. What do Sift tides do?
- A. In Dungeons II they change how fast souls regenerate and how strong enemies are. There are three: Flow, Thrive and Endure.
- Q. Is Wellspring an official name?
- A. It was the development name. The official name is the Sift. Wellspring survived only in the first title of an official YouTube video.
Launch details and system changes are in Minecraft Dungeons II: release date, price, platforms, and the Sift.
日本語版: Siftとは｜Minecraft Dungeons IIの新ディメンションの生態と「魂の泉」を考察
Sources: Minecraft Wiki pages “Dungeons II:The Sift”, “Singer’s Meadow”, “The Carapace”, “Lullaby Hills”, “Blub”, “Echo Golem”, “Soul Block”, “Ichor”, “Sift Tides”, “Soul”, “Monstrous Opus” and “The Sift” (checked October 2 to 4, 2026); Xbox Wire (September 26, 2026); Official XBOX Podcast (September 26, 2026); Famitsu (September 27, 2026); minecraft.net.