This is it! At long last, the longest wait between major Minecraft versions will be over. If all goes according to plan, Minecraft 1.9 will be released next week, on the 25th. As usual, we won't be updating on the same day, so make sure that you stay with us on 1.8 until we're ready to make the jump. From the launcher, hit the "Edit Profile" button at the bottom left, then set the "Use version" value to release 1.8.9. You'll be able to change it to 1.9 (or whatever the latest version is) after the upgrade!

I don't know yet when the servers will be updated, as that relies on having a reliable Spigot build plus our usual set of plugins. However, the Spigot team already has a working version for 1.9, which they're planning to release shortly after Mojang itself, so I'm expecting things to move rather quickly.

About the End
A question that has come up often is how the End will be managed now that there will be more to explore on that front. Right now, the End is reset every 24 hours so that everyone gets a chance at fighting the Enderdragon. At the same time, it's very possible that people will want to make permanent structures on the new lands that will be available. Even if the dragon can be respawned, I still want people to get a chance to experience the battle without any interferences.

As such, the End on Laurasia will keep its current status; that is, being automatically reset 24 hours after the dragon has been killed. To allow further exploration and permanent builds, Rodinia's End will be the one to remain as-is. That way, both options will be available!

Possible Rodinia split-off on hold
While this was (and still is) an option, the promise of a quick Spigot release means that Rodinia is not being considered to be split off and use the vanilla server for the time being. The door isn't fully closed on that front, though, so please keep an eye on this spot for more information.