According to the version catalogue our monitoring loads from Mojang's official manifest, Minecraft: Java Edition 26.3 was released on 15 September 2026. It is the third major release of the year after 26.1 (24 March) and 26.2 (16 June), with the 26.1.1 and 26.1.2 fixes in between. Snapshots of the next version are already in the catalogue — the latest at the time of writing is 26.4-snapshot-6.
Tip: for the gameplay changes of a specific version, read the official release notes on the Minecraft website. This post covers only what our monitoring shows: dates, numbering and server support.
Numbering: why 26 and not 1.22
After 1.21.11 (December 2025) Mojang switched to year-based numbering: the first number is the year (26 = 2026) and the second is the release within that year. Versions 1.22–1.25 don't exist; if a server promises "1.25", it's a mistake or an old description. The scheme and how to read version ranges on our cards are explained in Minecraft versions 26.x.
Bedrock Edition has its own numbering: in our catalogue it is the 1.26.x branch (the latest at the time of writing is 1.26.51). Java 26.3 and Bedrock 1.26.x are different games with different protocols — don't try to match their numbers.
Why servers don't update on release day
A big server is a core (Paper, Purpur, etc.) plus dozens of plugins. Until their authors ship compatible builds, admins are in no hurry to update. So many projects:
- stay on the previous version for a while;
- install ViaVersion, a plugin that lets players with newer clients join an older server;
- move to the new core and add ViaBackwards for older clients.
You can see this in the range on a card: "1.8–26.3" means the server accepts clients from 1.8 to 26.3, even if the world itself runs another version.
How to find servers on 26.3
- Open the catalogue with the version filter: servers that accept 26.3. It lists servers whose version range includes 26.3.
- If any 26.x will do, pick the 26.x group — it covers 26.1, 26.1.1, 26.1.2, 26.2 and 26.3.
- For specific modes use the landing pages: survival, SMP, vanilla — the version filter works there too.
Important: if a server says "Outdated client" or "Outdated server", pick the version shown on its card in your launcher — the newest one in the range is usually easiest.
What's next
When the next version is released, it will appear in our catalogue automatically and get its own entry in the Industry feed. Keep track of server updates in the events calendar and the news section.