Capes in Minecraft are an exclusive cosmetic item that’s highly sought after by players, as they’re considered rare – well used to be. In Java Edition, only special players or attendees from Minecon received capes. This made them extremely rare, but only recently Mojang decided to make them more common. On the other hand, Bedrock Edition always had plenty of capes for players to either purchase or obtain via rewards.
With the introduction of event and community capes, hundreds of thousands of players now have capes. Whether it’s from the account migration or Minecraft’s anniversary, obtaining capes is easy. All you have to do is keep an eye out for events and other activities from Mojang. The future for capes in Minecraft is bright, but there might be more to the picture.
The Cape Legacy
If you aren’t a Mojang employee or someone special, the only way to have received a cape was attending Minecon. In 2011, the first cape was released to the community to show off in-game. This was a huge flex and millions of people wanted their very own cape. Over the years, its popularity only increased – eventually leading to black market sales of them.
With each Minecon event, a new cape was released and players bought / sold them. This was the long-lasting legacy for capes, but there was a stopping point in 2017. Minecon wasn’t coming back and there were no other ways to get a cape. Mojang wanted to stop the hype around capes, as they were contributing to the black market of account selling.
Exclusivity & Cost
It goes without saying that owning any Minecon cape is highly exclusive, especially the early ones. People who missed out and have money laying around would search the web for marketplaces to buy accounts with capes. Some would sell for a few hundred dollars, while others could be worth thousands.
For those who attended Minecon, they paid the most due to travel, hotels, etc.. This further added onto the price of capes and their exclusivity. Mojang knew all about the black market and its popularity, so they decided to stop all future Minecraft conventions. Additionally, the Microsoft account migration made it more difficult to sell accounts with capes.
New Age of Capes
The community did not appreciate what Mojang did, as it made owning capes that much harder. After years of nothing, we suddenly found ourselves with tons of capes! In 2024 alone, we received 6 capes from various events and community celebrations. From the 15th Anniversary to Minecraft Experience, players had the opportunity to own a cape.
At first, the community really liked Mojang’s decision to make capes more available. However, those feelings of appreciation started to decrease by the end of 2024. There’s one simple reason for that: capes are too common now. Players love exclusivity and rarity, as they can flex in-game to others in Minecraft servers.
As we move along in 2025, we can expect more capes to be released. For example, there’s a rumor going around that the upcoming Minecraft Movie has its own cape for people who watch it. If that turns out to be false, then we’ll be sure to see more community events like the MC Championship – where players would complete challenges for a cape.
The Future of Capes
As of right now, the future of capes in Minecraft is one word: common. There will be many opportunities in 2025, 2026, and so on for players to receive a cape. Whether it would cost money or not is up to Mojang, as they have done both in the past. What’s likely to happen is that they host more in-game events on Bedrock Edition, promising a cape as a reward. This would be cross compatible with Java, especially since it’s the only way for them to get more attention.
With data leaks, we can already see some potential capes in the future. One of them is interesting, where players must log into Bedrock for an unknown amount of time to receive a cape. However, you must choose which one you want – and you’re unable to change it afterward. It’s only a leak, so it’s not a fact. Only time will tell, but Mojang is making capes more common in the future.
Personalizing Your Cape
What if you could customize your cape? Whether it’s added particle effects, animations, or a different styled cape, the chances of that happening aren’t zero. In Minecraft Dungeons, we see a variety of unique capes that are completely different from anything in Bedrock or Java Edition. If Mojang in the far future allows players to personalize their capes, then that would be interesting.
Rather than customizing a cape, it would simply be a standalone item that you can’t change – but with unique attributes. For example, the Amethyst Cape in Minecraft Dungeons is ripped up at the bottom and is an exclusive item. Something similar could happen for Bedrock & Java Edition. It’s not impossible for Mojang to do that, especially since it’s rather easy to design capes.
Multiplayer Flex
At the end of the day, players mainly want to show off their Minecraft capes in multiplayer. It’s a sign of rarity, exclusivity, and adds flavor to their in-game character. Some capes might be common, while others aren’t – the bottom line is that Mojang will continue to offer them. Whether you’re on Bedrock or Java Edition, your capes in Minecraft will be available for all to see!
