Minecraft has been defined by its ability to innovate and adapt with post-launch content updates over the years. The title is in the privileged position of having a near-endless wealth of new content to introduce, which has often caused rifts within the fanbase who are always looking for new experiences to explore and master.

This is why the annual Mob Vote of Minecraft has been the subject of so much attention in recent years, giving power to the community by allowing them to decide what content is added to the game. While Mob Votes have been the source of controversy recently thanks to fans demanding a larger scale of new content, they have been used for some time now to introduce fascinating new mobs to the game. Mob Votes are older than a lot of people may think, and have offered a wide range of unique mobs to choose from over the years.

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Minecraft's Long History of Mob Votes

The Mob Vote for Minecraft first began in 2017, at the time being billed as a revolutionary new way forward for how content was decided upon and introduced to the game. Unlike more recent Mob Votes, 2017's gave fans a choice between four mobs, with a poll then being conducted to determine a sole winner that would be added to Minecraft in a following update.

These included a hostile water mob called the Barnacle, a flying mob called the Phantom, a lizard-like mob named the Great Hunger, and a Blaze-styled boss mob called Wildfire. Ultimately, the Phantom would win this first-ever Mob Vote, attacking enemies who have not slept for three in-game days and becoming a staple of Minecraft's non-peaceful gameplay.

2018 did not see a global Mob Vote for Minecraft, instead focusing on a vote for what biome should be added to the game. There was, however, a 2018 Mob Vote for the Chinese edition of Minecraft, which allowed Chinese players to choose between the Crocodile, Giant Panda, Golden Monkey, Deer, and Pink Dolphin mobs. The Giant Panda would go on to win the 2018 vote, which was unusually locked to a specific region to the disappointment of many fans.

2019 also chose to forego a Mob Vote in favor of a biome competition, with 2020 seeing the long-anticipated return of Mob Votes. In 2020, fans chose between a Mooshroom-variant named Moobloom, an icy hostile Pillager called the Iceologer, and the aesthetically pleasing Glow Squid. The Glow Squid won 2020's Mob Vote, with the Iceologer making a future appearance in Minecraft Dungeons.

2021's Mob Vote saw the wisp-like Allay, the dark-hating Glare, and the button-pressing Copper Golem go head-to-head. There was a common feeling that the Copper Golem and Glare added very little to Minecraft's gameplay, and so the Allay comfortably won to the delight of fans. The Allay has gone on to shape a lot of Minecraft's new lore, making its victory one of the most important in Mob Vote history.

In 2022, the Mob Vote introduced the Sniffer, Tuff Golem, and Rascal mobs to the fray. Again, the mystery of the ancient Sniffer mob made it the most intriguing choice by far, making it the clear victor over the comparatively one-dimensional Rascal and Tuff Golem. Finally, 2023 carried forward the Mob Vote tradition by putting forward the Armadillo, Crab, and Penguin mobs. A real return to basics for the vote, the Armadillo and Crab were locked in a close battle before the former came out on top thanks to its Wolf Armor capabilities. The Mob Vote has become a core annual element of Minecraft despite its divisiveness, and will likely continue for the foreseeable future.

Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and legacy platforms.

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