Minecraft developer Mojang Studios first brought the highly anticipated Vibrant Visuals update to the Bedrock Edition (Xbox, PC, PS5, Switch) of its sandbox survival game last summer, and now it's focused on releasing it for the PC-specific, modding-friendly Minecraft: Java Edition. As part of that process, the studio has announced it's switching Java over to a new graphics API.
Put simply, graphics APIs form a bridge between your system's GPU and your games, allowing the former to render the latter on your screen. Currently, Minecraft: Java Edition uses OpenGL, an aging program first developed in the 1990s. It's stopped receiving updates and soon won't work on macOS anymore, though, so Mojang is moving to Vulkan instead.
Vulkan is a newer, frequently updated API that's supported on all of Minecraft's PC platforms (Windows, Linux, and macOS with a "translation layer"), and is currently used for the Nintendo Switch version of Bedrock. Mojang says the move to Vulkan will make Java Edition much easier to update, and will also bring "eventual performance gains and increased capabilities."
Those will be valuable to have to support Vibrant Visuals — an optional graphical overhaul that significantly improves the game's lighting, adds dynamic shadows, brings reflective and emissive layers to textures, and introduces biome-specific color grading and visual effects. Basically, it's the officially implemented equivalent of modded shaders and texture packs, and is designed to elevate Minecraft's vanilla aesthetic.
The developers say they're planning to start testing Vulkan in Java Edition with public pre-release "snapshot" builds this summer, with players able to swap between Vulkan and OpenGL during the testing period. It's committed to staying in testing "until we’re confident that the Vulkan implementation is stable, performant and ready," at which point OpenGL will be sunset.
Notably, Mojang promises that players will be notified of the full move to Vulkan before it comes, and says that Minecraft's minimum PC requirements will be updated as needed to reflect the use of the new API.
Considering that even GPUs that are now a full 10-years old support Vulkan, the vast, vast majority of Minecraft players should have no issues playing the game once it switches to the new API. However, if the graphics card in your rig is older than that, you may need to make an upgrade.
All in all, I expect the shift to Vulkan will end up being a huge boon for Minecraft players that prefer using Java Edition to Bedrock. Java's open-ended architecture makes it the favored version for modding, and it also features more advanced redstone logic and more nuanced combat. It's always had worse performance than Bedrock, though, which is unfortunate.
Vulkan, though, should help with that substantially — though one caveat is that all OpenGL-based Minecraft mods will need to be overhauled to be compatible with the game's future on Vulkan. Mojang acknowledges this, and asks that players afford mod authors patience and kindness while they work to do this.
Minecraft: Java Edition is included in the $29.99 PC bundle that provides access to both Java and Bedrock, which is notably just $17.89 at Loaded right now thanks to a sweet deal. Alternatively, it's also playable through PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Are you looking forward to Minecraft: Java Edition switching over to the Vulkan graphics API? Which version of the game do you prefer, Java or Bedrock? Let me know in the comments.
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