Minecraft's Visual Overhaul Arrives for Supported Devices

Visuals were never Minecraft's primary appeal. The game's enduring success has always stemmed from its boundless sandbox world and limitless creative freedom, with Mojang's iconic blocky aesthetic taking a backseat to gameplay.

Today marks a shift with the release of the long-awaited Vibrant Visuals update for PC and a selection of compatible consoles and mobile devices. Notably, not every platform will benefit; the classic Minecraft: Java Edition is among those missing out.

For players on the primary Minecraft: Bedrock Edition for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and select Android and iOS devices, the Vibrant Visuals update is live now as a key component of the broader Chase the Skies release.

The Chase the Skies update introduces rideable Happy Ghasts to the overworld, offering a friendlier alternative to their hostile Nether-dwelling counterparts. New features also include the ability to link camels into resource-hauling caravans and a Player Locator HUD for easier coordination with friends.

Players on older hardware like the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or previous-generation Android phones must manually enable Vibrant Visuals in the video settings menu. Mojang cautions that this may impact performance on these devices.

The minimum technical requirements for PC and smartphone users are:

• Android: Adreno 640, Mali-G68, Mali-G77, or Xclipse 530 GPU or better

• iOS: A12 Bionic, M1 chip, or newer

• PC: Minecraft running on DirectX 12

Note that Vibrant Visuals does not currently support splitscreen multiplayer, custom Worlds, or Texture Packs.

Conspicuously absent from today's launch announcement is any mention of Nintendo Switch or the rumored Switch 2, leaving compatibility for Nintendo platforms unconfirmed.

On a positive note, Minecraft is now officially optimized for Xbox Series X/S, a milestone arriving several years into the current console generation.

The Vibrant Visuals update fulfills a longstanding promise from Microsoft to deliver a substantive graphical overhaul. This initiative traces back to 2017 with the unveiling—and subsequent cancellation—of the Super Duper Graphics Pack, originally slated for Xbox One and the then-codenamed "Project Scorpio" (Xbox One X). This new update finally delivers on that vision.