Minecraft was never designed with visuals as its key selling point. With an endless sandbox landscape and unlimited customisation, Mojang’s now-familiar pixellated graphics were never the main focus.
Today, however, that all changes, with the launch of Minecraft’s long-awaited Vibrant Visuals update on PC and a range of compatible consoles and smartphones. But not all platforms will get the upgrade, and the game’s classic Minecraft: Java Edition will also be left without.
Still, if you’re playing the main Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S or certain Android and iOS devices, Vibrant Visuals is available now, as part of the game’s wider Chase the Skies update.
Chase the Skies adds ridable Happy Ghast creatures to the game’s overworld, following years of stress caused by their meaner cousins who spit fireballs in the Nether. You can also now leash a chain of camels together to create a resource-transporting caravan, and track down your friends faster with the Player Locator HUD bar.
If you play Minecraft on an older console, such as PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, or if you play on an older Android phone, you’ll need to manually switch on the Vibrant Visuals option via the game’s video settings menu. Mojang warns that “performance may degrade for these devices”.
On PC or smartphone, you’ll need the following tech specs:
• Android: Adreno 640, Mali-G68, Mali-G77, or Xclipse 530 or higher
• iOS: A12 or M1 or higher
• PC: Running Minecraft on DX12
Splitscreen multiplayer, custom Worlds and Texture Packs are not currently supported by Vibrant Visuals, either.
And what of Nintendo Switch — or Switch 2? No mention is made of Nintendo’s console platforms in today’s Vibrant Visuals launch blog, leaving fans in the dark about compatibility there.
However, on a brighter note, Minecraft is now at last listed as Xbox Series X/S optimised, some five years after Microsoft’s current console generation launched.
Vibrant Visuals finally makes good on Microsoft’s promise to launch a proper graphical upgrade for Minecraft, first mentioned back in 2017 when a fancy trailer was released for the later-cancelled Super Duper Graphics Pack. At the time, Mojang said this upgrade would arrive for Xbox One and “Project Scopio” — what became Xbox One X. Now, finally, something similar has arrived.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
