Summary

  • The new Ghast update adds support for the frozen Nether fan theory.
  • You will soon be able to save Dried Ghast by rehydrating them with water, and then tame them with snowballs.
  • This hints that they are from a much colder ecosystem, of which there is evidence the Nether once was.

Mojang announced at Minecraft Live 2025 that two major updates are coming this year. "Spring to Life", which releases tomorrow, will overhaul each biome with more mob variety and ambient features, and the second, which doesn't currently have a name, will add the ability to tame and ride Ghasts.

A flying mount that can hold up to four players is exciting for a few reasons, namely how much easier it'll be to travel the Overworld, and perhaps even the End. But it has also reopened the book on a popular fan theory — the frozen Nether.

Game Theory suggested two years ago that the Nether was once a "thriving ecosystem" filled with water and ice, not lava. The most compelling evidence for this theory is the presence of Basalt, which is made in-game using blue ice. MatPat argued that the Nether is a commentary on climate change, with ancient builders (who the Hoglins and Piglins are believed to descend from) over farming and mining, thus releasing greenhouse gases, and causing the once prosperous dimension to become a hellish inferno.

As posited by u/1DeviousDorito on r/Minecraft, the upcoming update further cements this theory. Ghasts are in perpetual pain, letting out an ear-piercing screech as they attack, and dropping tears when slain. But you can rescue Ghastlings by mining a Dried Ghast 'block' and rehydrating them with water. Once rehydrated, you can then tame them with snowballs, thus making them "Happy Ghasts".

They appear to be in misery because of the Nether's stifling environment, and the sheer lack of water, hinting that their home is not what it once was. With "Dried Ghasts", we even have proof that some are dying from the heat.

Some Also Argue That The Ghast Come From The Overworld

Some, however, have taken the new update as further proof that the Ghast once lived in the Overworld, not the Nether, as supposedly evidenced by the Uneasy Alliance achievement.

It simply states: "Rescue a Ghast from the Nether [and] bring it safely home to the Overworld". Fans have long read this to mean that you're bringing the Ghast home by taking it out of the Nether. However, "safely home" could be in reference to the player, and rescuing it from the Nether still applies given that its natural habitat has become inhospitable.

The presence of basalt, fossils, and glacial textures on Nether blocks hint at a former Ice Age, which all fits the new Ghast update perfectly, and it's far less of a reach to suggest that the Nether was at one point a "thriving ecosystem" (as it's believed that Venus once was, giving us a real-world parallel) than it is to say the ancient builders moved every Ghast into the Nether, leaving no traces of their species behind in the Overworld.

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Minecraft

Sandbox Survival Systems 10.0/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 90/100 Critics Rec: 84% Released November 18, 2011 ESRB E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence Developer(s) Mojang Publisher(s) Mojang Engine LWJGL, PROPRIETARY ENGINE
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