author: Michael Zegar
Minecraft Preview Gets Ray Tracing on Xbox Series X/S [UPDATED]
Minecraft Preview received ray tracing on Xbox Series X/S consoles. At this point it is unknown when this option will appear on the PS5 console, although it is unlikely that we should wait for long.
News Update
It appears that ray tracing in Minecraft Preview on Xbox Series X/S consoles was added by mistake. Minecraft's official profile on Twitter posted the following information:
The previous Minecraft Preview build available to Xbox Insiders inadvertently included prototype code for raytracing support on Xbox consoles.
This early prototype code has been removed from Preview and doesn't signal near future plans to bring raytracing support to consoles.
All is not lost, however - Microsoft has mentioned ray tracing in Minecraft in an article from two years ago, discussing the capabilities of the Xbox Series X.
Perhaps the company is waiting for implementation of AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 technology in Xbox Series X/S consoles.
It will allow for slight reduction of load on the components in the company's devices. Free computing power can be redirected to additional visual effects - such as ray tracing.
Original post
Minecraft Preview on Xbox Series X/S consoles gained an option for ray tracing. To use it, you need to update the application to version 1.18.3064.0.
The Verge editor Tom Warren instructed on Twitter how to enable this feature and presented its current impact on gameplay.
How to use ray tracing on Xbox consoles?
To take advantage of ray tracing on Xbox Series X/S, go to the video settings of Minecraft Preview - the option should be located at the very bottom, just below the bar that modifies the size of the interface.
Under it you will see a setting that enables you to modify drawing distance with ray tracing enabled. The higher the value, the better the visual quality, but also the associated performance drop.
Windows Central reports that at this point it may also be necessary to create a new world or join a multiplayer game hosted on a PC, in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition; this does not apply to the Java version with texture pack installed that enables ray tracing.
Early implementation
At this point ray tracing in Minecraft Preview on Xbox Series X/S is in the early stages of implementation, which means that the effects it currently introduces are far from those intended by the developers.
- Nevertheless, this option already adds very natural shadows and reflections to the cubic world.
- At this point there's no word on when ray tracing will be available on PS5 (Minecraft Preview is not yet available on this platform).
Many indications suggest that the option will not remain just a curiosity for Minecraft Preview and in the near future it will also be implemented in stable versions of Minecraft on current-gen consoles (who knows, maybe even as the default visuals).
What about PC?
Ray tracing is also available in a special PC version of the game, titled Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition.
Officially, at this point, it's only supported on pre-designed worlds and is intended only for owners of Nvidia's RTX-series GPUs, though there are ways to get around those limitations.
- It is possible that thanks to Microsoft's renewed interest in this technology in the near future we will also see improvements in the PC version of Minecraft.
Users of Minecraft Java version can also take advantage of ray tracing thanks to special shaders (like SEUS PTGI).
