Old biomes
by Sudak
Old biomes brings back biomes that Minecraft removed in the Adventure Update, including Ice Desert, Shrubland and Seasonal Forest, in worlds built on Forge or NeoForge.
What it does
Old biomes restores terrain types that vanilla Minecraft dropped with the Adventure Update. The mod adds these biomes back into world generation so new worlds can contain them alongside the current set. It targets game versions 1.19.4 – 1.21.8, with files for 1.19.4, 1.20.1 and 1.21.8.
Each restored biome keeps its original character. Ice Desert is a desert covered in snow and ice, unlike the regular desert, and it still has cacti and dry bushes. Tropical Forest, sometimes called Rainforest, has oak trees, many tall grass plants and ferns. Shrubland holds few trees and some tall grass, close to a savanna. Seasonal Forest sits near regular forests and plains, has fewer trees and tall grasses, lacks birch trees, and has more water bodies than a regular forest.
The mod runs on both sides: a server needs it, and every player who joins that server must also install it. It is released under the Apache License 2.0 and is not open source. Forge and NeoForge are the supported loaders, and the latest builds are 2.0.0 for 1.20.1 on Forge and 3.0.0 for 1.21.8 on NeoForge.
Key features
Ice Desert biome
A desert variant covered in snow and ice, with cacti and dry bushes still growing in it.
Tropical Forest biome
A dense rainforest with oak trees, lots of tall grass and ferns, found near the tropics of the world.
Shrubland biome
A sparse biome with few trees and tall grass, and one of the least common terrain types in the original game.
Seasonal Forest biome
A forest with fewer trees and no birch trees, where water bodies appear more often than in a regular forest.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players who want more terrain variety in new worlds, and server owners who want restored biomes on their own maps. The mod suits survival and exploration playthroughs that use world generation.
How it compares
Biome2 is server-side only, so players join without installing it, and it is released under the Apache License 2.0 for 1.20.1 – 1.21.4, not open source. Hydrological is also server-side and works 1.20.1 – 1.21.11, and it is open source under the MIT License. Big Oak Tree runs on both sides for 1.20.1 – 1.21.4 and is released under All rights reserved.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old biomes | Forge and NeoForge | 1.19.4 – 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2026-06-22 |
| Biome2 | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.4 | Server-side only | 2025-04-29 |
| Hydrological (Overworld Terrain & Biomes) | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.11 | Server required, client optional | 2026-07-05 |
| Big Oak Tree | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.4 | Client and server | 2025-02-23 |
Questions
Does Old biomes need to be installed on the server?
Which loaders does Old biomes support?
Will the restored biomes appear in existing worlds?
In the catalog
Old biomes is one of 8,515 World generation mods on ModsFinder, and one of 5,058 World generation mods for Forge. 17,695 mods support Minecraft 1.21.8.
More from Sudak
Similar mods
What the author says
Ice Desert: Unlike the regular desert, the ice desert is covered with snow and ice; in addition, there are no cacti or dry bushes in the ice desert. Tropical Forest(Rainforest):The rainforest has oak trees and lots of tall grass and ferns.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/old-biomes
- Owner
- Sudak
- Published
- 2024-04-02
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-06-22
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15