Minecraft sure has changed a lot over the years. Since its earliest incarnation in 2009 all the way through the multiplatform behemoth it is today, the block-building survival sim has always thrived on evolution, always moving forward. Now, it's set to change yet again with a substantial graphics overhaul that makes it look like an entirely new game. Truly, this could be the closest to Minecraft 2 we ever get.
Players will be able to explore a stunning new Minecraft tomorrow (April 16th) thanks to the RTX Beta. Tech company NVIDIA first announced that it was working on bringing real-time ray tracing to the game last year, and a new blog post has confirmed that brave new world is now less than a day away.
You can read the full blog post here if you want, but it's chock full of technical jargon. If, like me, you're a simple soul whose interest in this whole thing goes as far as "update makes game look pretty," allow me to boil it down for you. Ray tracing will breathe new life into Minecraft by bringing major improvements to lighting. This in turn, allows for more realistic shadows, reflections, and atmospheric effects.
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It's a technique we'll be seeing a lot more of when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X launch later this year, so take note. If it can make Minecraft look this good, we're in for a real treat next time CD Projekt RED releases a Witcher game.
To get a real feel for how it looks ahead of the official Beta launch, you can check out the trailer below.
When the Beta kicks off, players will get to look around six finished worlds that have been put together by popular Minecraft creators in an effort to show just what the new update can do. There's a gorgeous-looking Cyberpunk city which you've probably heard of before now, a watery kingdom, and even a massive theme park with all kinds of bells and whistles designed to show off the delights of ray tracing.
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Nvidia is also offering players a chance to upload their own builds into the beta to see how much better they look with ray tracing. You can learn how to do that if you follow this here link. Finally, players will be able to screw around new, more realistic blocks. Basically, there's plenty to do and gawp over in this beta.
It's not clear when the RTX Beta will be released in full, but it's expected to arrive as a free update on PC before the end of the year.
Featured Image Credit: Microsoft