If you choose to stop updating your mods for Forge 1.20.1 and move exclusively to NeoForge 1.21.1, you should understand the real impact of that decision. NeoForge is still dealing with fragmentation, unstable builds, poor compatibility, and a very small mod ecosystem. Meanwhile, Forge 1.20.1 remains the strongest and most reliable foundation the modding community has right now.
Most major mods, modpacks, and servers continue to stay on 1.20.1 because it simply works: it’s stable, it’s mature, and it has a huge, active player base. NeoForge, on the other hand, is constantly suffering from world-breaking bugs, missing ports, crashes, mod conflicts, and slow adoption. The majority of players who tried switching to NeoForge report that it feels unfinished and unreliable.
By dropping Forge 1.20.1, you’re not taking a step forwardyou’re limiting your mods to a version and a loader that haven’t earned the community’s trust and that currently have a much smaller audience. This reduces visibility, compatibility, and long-term relevance, not because your mods are bad, but because fewer people are willing to use NeoForge.
And on top of that, several big and highly anticipated mods are coming to 1.20.1 soon, which will make the version even stronger and more attractive than it already is. Choosing NeoForge means removing yourself from the version that is still growing and thriving every day.
The reality is simple: Forge 1.20.1 is successful because it’s stable, proven, and supported. NeoForge isn’t there yet and placing all your work there comes with consequences. When developers lock themselves exclusively to NeoForge 1.21.1, they lose visibility, player base, compatibility, and community support the same thing that’s already happening to the creator of Iron Spells.
And that’s exactly what you want to warn BlockFactory about, using this example as a reference
#Hello Unusual Squad
static knot
A lot of what we're seeing right now isn't progress toward 1.21.1 it's panic backporting. The fact that so many developers are rushing their mods back to 1.20.1 shows exactly which version the community actually trusts.
I say this with all due respect: I know Forge can be harder to work with, but a true mod creator doesn't limit themselves to just one version, and that shows love and interest for communities of different versions. I'm not saying they shouldn't keep updating 1.20.1, but 1.21.1 is starting to decline quite a bit due to the lack of good mods.
ashen niche
We're not dropping 1.20 ? 1.20 is more popular but 1.21 is way better from a dev perspective, so we choose the version depending on our needs.
"You should drop 1.21 for 1.20" and then "1.21 is declining because there is no good mods" in the same paragraph is insane tho. Do you even realise.
static knot
We're not dropping 1.20 ? 1.20 is more popular but 1.21 is way better from a dev...
Wow, you really don’t realize… 1.20.1 Forge is the favorite mod version for many, it has more mods and better stability, and yet some creators refuse to keep using it. But sure, 1.21 is ‘better from a dev perspective
devout lightBOT
@static knot, you have reached the level 1!
ashen niche
Bro think he has a more in depth vision on the topic than me 🥀🙏