Hot on the heels of the new 1.9 prerelease, Notch has announced via Twitter that dragons are finally coming to Minecraft.
As you can see from the above screenshot, the creature is still in an early stage of development. Although he's lacking a texture, Notch says he's already animated and able to fly around the game world, and he looks to fit in brilliantly with the game's cavalcade of blocky creatures. You can see a bit more of the proto-dragon in flight courtesy of a small photo album Notch has thrown together for the fans.
My advice? Stop building your houses out of wood as soon as possible, because when this guy makes it in, you're going to seriously regret it if your entire world isn't fireproof. Hell, if Mojang handles things right, we might finally have something to fear more than the Creepers and Endermen.
While Minecraft has been out for eons in alpha and beta, the official launch of the game is scheduled for November 11.