The new version of Minecraft has been released, 1.7.5.
It’s a small update:
- Minecraft Realms adds mini game support
- Several server-side performance improvements and bug fixes
- Preparations to bring Minecraft Realms to more countries
They aim to open Minecraft Realms to all Nordic countries (Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark) starting sometime next week.
Also they are working on snapshots for 1.8, but before 1.8 is out they already know there will be a 1.7.6 version. Minecraft 1.7.6 will add support for the new skin system (which currently is in the 1.8 snapshots) and name changing (only the support for changing names, actually being able to change names may need to wait a little more). Minecraft 1.7.6 will be out some time after GDC in March.