Whether you ask how to get to the Sift or how to enter it, the answer depends on which game you are holding. In Minecraft Java & Bedrock Edition, you cannot get to the Sift yet: the dimension arrives in 2027, and Mojang has not announced how players will access it. In Minecraft Dungeons II, released on September 29, 2026, the Sift is already playable, and Mojang’s own description of the way in is to “step through the rift.” Anything more specific than that — a portal design, an activation step, an item — comes from community records rather than from Mojang, and each such detail is labeled below.
Where can you reach the Sift today?
| Game | Can you go now? | How you get in |
|---|---|---|
| Minecraft Dungeons II | Yes, since September 29, 2026 | Officially described as stepping through a rift; exact mechanism not detailed by Mojang |
| Minecraft Java Edition | No — coming in 2027, exact date Not announced | Not announced |
| Minecraft Bedrock Edition | No — coming in 2027, exact date Not announced | Not announced |
Dungeons II is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. It is included with Game Pass, and Xbox Play Anywhere lets console and PC share it at no extra cost. If your goal is simply to stand in the Sift this year, that is the route that exists.
Java & Bedrock: there is no way in yet
Mojang has confirmed that the Sift — Minecraft’s fourth dimension, and the first new one in 14 years — is coming to Java & Bedrock Edition in 2027. What it has not done is explain the entrance. In Mojang’s words, it “isn’t talking too much about how to access the Sift.” The same silence covers the other half of the question: how the Minecraft version of the dimension will differ from the Dungeons II version is Not announced.
That leaves a short and slightly unsatisfying list of facts for anyone planning ahead. No portal block, no crafted item and no ritual has been officially confirmed for Java & Bedrock. The exact 2027 date is Not announced as well, so there is no update to wait for by name. Mojang has also not linked the Sift to Ice Caves, the next game drop; reading one as a step toward the other would be guesswork.
Mojang’s guidance for impatient players points elsewhere. The best way to preview how the Sift works, it says, is to play Dungeons II, and more information will come in future Minecraft LIVE events. A preview is not a blueprint, though. A rift, portal or ritual seen in Dungeons II does not tell you what the Java & Bedrock entrance will be.
Dungeons II: what Mojang says about the rift
The official route in Dungeons II is described in a single sentence from the game’s own description:
Step through the rift and fight where no hero has been before: the Sift, an uncharted dimension teeming with threats, mysteries, and breathtaking beauty.
Read narrowly, that sentence confirms one thing about access: Mojang uses the word rift for the way into the Sift. It does not say what a rift looks like, how one is opened, how many there are or where they sit in the world. Those specifics are not part of the official description.
The official story offers a starting point but not a timestamp. Early in Dungeons II, players discover that “something is amiss”: strange events begin to upend the natural order of the Overworld, new enemies appear and souls start to fly through the world. Mojang presents this as where players first make contact with the Sift. It is not a statement that you can enter the dimension during those opening stages, and this page does not treat it as one.
Community records: portals, Note Blocks and a staff
Community records — not officially confirmed. Players documenting Dungeons II on minecraft.wiki’s Dungeons II: The Sift page (accessed ) have recorded more detail than Mojang has announced. That page marks itself as a work in progress, and none of the items below comes from Mojang. They also describe Dungeons II only, so none of them should be carried over as a prediction for Java & Bedrock.
- Deep Dark portal with a Note Block Machine. The wiki records entry to the Sift through a Deep Dark portal, using a Note Block Machine.
- The Grand Illusioner’s staff. The wiki also records that a dimensional rift can be created by the Grand Illusioner’s staff. For this detail the community wiki cites the officially licensed novel Minecraft Dungeons II: The Rift (C. Z. Huett, Random House Worlds). It is not a verified in-game mechanic.
- Rifts across the world. The idea that “rifts appear throughout the interconnected world” is a community paraphrase, not Mojang’s wording. Officially, only the use of “rift” for the entrance is confirmed.
- The ancient city frame. The wiki’s timeline records that on March 21, 2026, the frame at the center of ancient cities was revealed as a portal to a new dimension.
- Brave the Unknown. The wiki lists this Dungeons II achievement, worth 20G, for entering the Sift.
Two of these records sound like they could answer the Java & Bedrock question, and neither does. A Deep Dark portal recorded for Dungeons II is a Dungeons II record, and the ancient city entry in the wiki’s timeline is a community record of a reveal, not Mojang describing how main-game players will reach the Sift in 2027. Until Mojang says otherwise, the Java & Bedrock entrance stays Not announced.
How to open the Sift portal
In Minecraft Java & Bedrock Edition, there is no Sift portal to open. Mojang has not announced a portal, an item or a ritual for the main game, so the official answer to “how do I open the Sift portal?” is Not announced, on any platform, until the dimension arrives in 2027.
That means every “open the Sift portal” tutorial is describing something other than a Java or Bedrock Sift portal. Before following one, work out which entrance it actually means:
- The rift in Dungeons II — official wording. Mojang’s only description of the way in is to “step through the rift.” It describes stepping through, not building, lighting or activating anything.
- The Deep Dark portal with a Note Block Machine — community record, not officially confirmed. minecraft.wiki records this as an entrance in Dungeons II. It is not a Mojang instruction, and it says nothing about Java & Bedrock.
- The ancient city frame — community record, not officially confirmed. The wiki’s timeline records the frame being revealed as a portal to a new dimension on March 21, 2026. A reveal is not an activation method, and no official step for opening it exists.
- Note Blocks or flint and steel at an Ancient City — third-party mods, not associated with Mojang. Many step-by-step portal tutorials are about fan-made mods and add-ons, which open the Ancient City frame with a Note Block melody or by clearing the sculk and lighting it. Those steps work only inside that mod.
If a guide gives you a block list, a lighting step or a build order for a Java or Bedrock Sift portal, it is going beyond anything Mojang has said. Check its claims against the table below before spending resources on it.
Claims to check before you trust a “Sift portal” guide
Because the official answer is short, longer answers fill the gap. Before following one, compare it against what has actually been announced:
| If a guide says… | Official status |
|---|---|
| Here is how to build a Sift portal in Java or Bedrock | Not announced. No portal, item or ritual is officially confirmed for Java & Bedrock. |
| The Sift arrives on a specific 2027 date | Not announced. Only the year, 2027, is confirmed. |
| Minecraft will copy the Dungeons II entrance | Not announced. How the Minecraft version differs from Dungeons II has not been discussed. |
| Ice Caves unlocks the Sift | Not announced. Mojang has not linked Ice Caves and the Sift. |
| The Deep Dark portal or Note Block Machine is official | Community record from minecraft.wiki, not a Mojang announcement. |
| The Grand Illusioner’s staff opens rifts in-game | Community wiki detail citing the officially licensed novel; not a verified in-game mechanic. |
For the bigger picture, see what the Sift is, how it appears in Minecraft Dungeons II, and what is known about its Java & Bedrock release date. This page will change when Mojang explains the main-game entrance.
Can you play a Sift-like dimension right now? (mods)
In the official game, not until 2027. In the meantime, fan-made mods for Java and a Bedrock add-on already let you enter their own versions of the Sift, typically through an Ancient City portal. They are third-party work, not made by or associated with Mojang, and each author’s biomes, mobs and portal are an interpretation rather than a preview of the official dimension.
If you want to try one anyway, compare the main Sift mods and add-ons, including which edition and loader each one needs and how its content differs from what Mojang has announced.