After years of waiting, Minecraft players using the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles are getting native 4K resolution support. This comes with the latest Minecraft preview (Version 1.20.60.23) which is already live. While it also adds experimental features like the Armadillo mob, Armadillo Scutes as well as new commands, the highly requested feature is the little graphical update in the patch notes says: Added 4k resolution support for Xbox Series consoles.
As of October 2023, Minecraft has sold more than 300 million copies which gives it a top spot in the list of best-selling video games ever, beating out GTA 5 by quite a lot.
Before this update, the version of Minecraft on Series X|S ran at the same resolution as the previous gen console, Xbox One (1080p). This was clearly a step back considering the capabilities of the Xbox Series X|S which led to disappointment of players. Thankfully, the addition of 4K support changes this and might just lead to a whole new wave of players joining in now.
4K support for Minecraft on Xbox Series X and S means that not only will the game have better and sharper visuals in a game that’s all about the environment; the textures will look better, smoother and provide an immersive experience that is drastically better than the one before.
As of now the 4k Support feature is only available in the Minecraft Preview program. Preview is a separate app/game that allows you to test pre-release features without affecting your standard Minecraft: Bedrock Edition experience.
4K was initially promised back in 2017
In June 2017, Minecraft had announced at E3 that they are releasing a new update for consoles which has graphics rendered in stunning 4K HDR with the Super Duper Graphics pack. This was supposed to add dynamic shadows, lighting that passes through fog, leaf movement, new textures, specular maps, dynamic explore, and much more and was intended to cost $10 USD.
It had further promotion during Minecon Earth 2017 but ended up being delayed and canceled in 2019 due to issues with the graphics engine, compatibility and performance issues.
Ray tracing in Minecraft on Xbox Series X|S Consoles
While the Xbox Series X/S consoles are capable of ray tracing, it gets a bit complex with Minecraft. There are technical challenges related to optimization which will take time, especially to ensure that it runs perfectly on the less powerful Series S.
In 2022, a ray tracing build was accidentally released to Xbox players via the Preview program and some did ended up testing it, but it wasn’t ready to be released for Preview at the time. Since then, there’s no new update or information regarding Minecraft’s Ray Tracing on Xbox Series X|S consoles which has led to player frustration.
PC players, though, can experience Ray Tracing which is available for DirectX capable devices, such as GeForce RTX GPU and select AMD GPUs. There’s a chance that Mojang is prioritizing this over Ray Tracing for Xbox, however, since they have not ruled it out entirely, there’s still hope. If there’s any official confirmation, we will share the update right here.
When will 4K Support come to Minecraft after Preview?
In its Preview stage, the feature will undergo testing and fix any instability, bugs and performance issues based on community feedback. Once the problems are resolved, it could arrive to Minecraft in the upcoming 1.21 update.
Do note that as mentioned in the patch notes, the work-in-progress versions can be unstable and may not be representative of the final version quality. Minecraft Preview is available on Xbox, Windows 10/11, and iOS devices.
With competitors eyeing Minecraft’s audience with the likes of LEGO Fortnite, Mojang has to certainly step up their game and this is a step in the right direction.