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Is Minecraft Getting a Next-Gen, PS5, or Series X Update?


Credit: Mojang

In the years since Minecraft’s 2011 1.0 launch, each new console generation has brought with it the question, “Will Minecraft get a next-gen update?” The launch of the latest generation of consoles is no different, and like usual, Mojang has announced no plans to overhaul the game in any significant way.

Will Minecraft Get a PS5 Update? A Next-Gen Version? Anything?

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In short, next-gen Minecraft is probably never going to be a thing. However, an updated version of the game designed to take advantage of the power of the latest consoles in some way is also probably an inevitability. 

Though this may not even take the form of, for example, a PS5 version of Minecraft and could simply be a patch available for the PS4 version of Minecraft allowing gamers to play in higher resolutions, with more expansive render distances, or at higher framerates on PS5.

This is a pretty common style of update for games that are major hits on older devices. For example, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare just received a PS5 patch enabling 120FPS gameplay.

Minecraft’s Past Next-Gen Upgrade and Why It Was Cancelled

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Speculation aside, Mojang themselves once announced a next-gen update of sorts for Minecraft, and this didn’t go well. Years ago, Mojang announced the Super Duper Graphics Pack for Minecraft: an update intended to bring a whole new look and feel to the game.

This pack seemed to bring Minecraft in line with how video games look in the modern day with shadows, volumetrics, ambient occlusion, high-res textures, and lots of cool visual effects. However, this next-gen version of Minecraft was later canceled by Mojang, who weren’t happy with the performance of the pack across different devices.

In order to keep a community together that plays across phones and high-end gaming PCs alike, it’s unlikely Mojang will release Minecraft content tailored to those only with more powerful devices, and this, unfortunately, includes the idea of a true next-gen update.

Minecraft Already Supports Next-Gen Ray-Tracing and Mods

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However, this is not a hard and fast rule, and there are many ways to use mods or resource packs to overhaul the look and feel of Minecraft to your liking. For NVIDIA RTX card owners, you can play Minecraft: RTX: an edition of Minecraft only available on PC that supports full ray-tracing as well as NVIDIA’s DLSS.

If you own a copy of Minecraft: Java, also only available on PC but distinct from Minecraft: RTX, there are thousands of shaders (mods that often work with the larger mod OptiFine) you can use to bring volumetric lighting, shadows, more detailed skyboxes, higher-res textures, and much more to the game.

Related: Does Xbox Games Pass for PC Have Minecraft? 2021 Update

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