Minecraft’s official PS5 version has a release date and, no, there won’t be ray tracing

Mojang Studios has confirmed when PS5 players can expect the native version of Minecraft.

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What you need to know

What you need to know

Here’s a fun fact for you!Minecraftisn’t really next-gen optimized, and instead runs in backward compatibility across Xbox and PlayStation platforms. This isn’tasbig a deal on Xbox with its more seamless cross-gen compatibility, but it’s disappointing across the board. We’ve known for a while thatMojang Studios was working on a native PS5 version of Minecraft: Bedrock Editionalongside the support of community testers, and now we have an official release date.

Minecraft is dropping on the PlayStation 5 onOct. 22, 2024, and will be a free update for all PS4 owners. It’s a great change and is a part ofMojang’s new approach to Minecraft development, but it’s not as exciting as it may seem at first glance.

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Better performance for PS5 players, and little else

Better performance for PS5 players, and little else

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For years now, many Minecraft console players have hoped that Mojang Studios would properly optimize Minecraft to take full advantage of the more powerful current-gen consoles, such as adding ray tracing. At the very least, many felt the Xbox Series X|S deserved better treatment, being Minecraft’s home ecosystem (at least on paper). Alas, it never happened, and there’s no sign it’s going to. That’s not changing with this release.

Minecraft may be getting a native PS5 version where it’s not technically Xbox Series X|S Optimized, but it ultimately won’t be that different. Minecraft will more reliably run at 4K resolution and 60 frames-per-second (FPS) and support longer render distances on PS5 following this release, but it already does so on Xbox Series X|S, whichMojang first began testing nearly a year ago. There won’t be any enhanced features or ray tracing, just a native version that better takes advantage of the PlayStation 5 than Sony’s PS4 backward compatibility layer.

This is still good news for PS5 Minecraft players, though, as better performance is always welcomed. There’s more Minecraft news just around the corner, too, asMojang is set to air its first new and improved Minecraft Live show in a few weeks. We may even see more about theupcoming live action Minecraft movie, which just released its first cursed trailer. After that, the free PS5 update for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition rolls out on Oct. 22, 2024. You can check out the original announcement post atMinecraft.net.

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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.