THE SHORT ANSWER
Minecraft 26.1.2 Release Candidate 1 is live, fixing critical issues from the previous version. If no new blockers appear, the full release will follow shortly.
- First release candidate for 26.1.2 deployed October 12, 2026
- Targets critical bugs identified in the 26.1.1 release
- In-game friends system fixes are among the changes
- Full release expected within days if no regressions surface
- Available through the standard launcher release candidate channel
Release candidate goes live
Mojang shipped Minecraft 26.1.2 Release Candidate 1 on October 12, 2026. The build addresses "a couple of critical issues found in the release," according to the studio's brief announcement. If testing turns up no further blockers, the full 26.1.2 update will roll out to all players within days.
What changed
The announcement does not list specific bug IDs, but community reports and secondary coverage point to fixes for the in-game friends system — a recurring pain point in recent 26.x builds. Earlier release candidates in the 26.2 track also highlighted friends-list synchronization and invite reliability. Mojang has not published a full changelog for this candidate, so the exact scope remains unclear until the final release notes drop.
How to test
Players on Java Edition can opt into the release candidate through the launcher's "Latest Release" dropdown by enabling snapshots and selecting "26.1.2-rc1." Bedrock users on Windows, Xbox, and mobile will see the candidate appear in their respective beta programs. As always, back up worlds before loading them in a pre-release build.
What happens next
Mojang's standard cadence gives release candidates a 48- to 72-hour soak period. If no regressions are reported — particularly around multiplayer connectivity, friends invites, or world corruption — the studio will promote the candidate to full release. Should new critical issues surface, a second release candidate will follow.
Context
Version 26.1.2 is a maintenance patch on the 26.x branch, which itself followed the "Chaos Cubed" feature drop. The branch has seen an unusually high number of release candidates across both 26.1 and 26.2 tracks, suggesting the recent feature work introduced more edge-case bugs than usual. Players running servers should hold off on updating until the full release unless they specifically need the friends-system fixes.