Minecraft's Colorful Update Out Now on Supported Devices

Minecraft's appeal was never rooted in its visual presentation. With its boundless sandbox environment and limitless customization options, Mojang's signature pixelated art style was always a secondary consideration.

Today marks a turning point with the long-awaited launch of the Vibrant Visuals update for PC and supported consoles and mobile devices. However, this upgrade won't reach all platforms, and the classic Minecraft: Java Edition will also remain excluded.

For those playing the primary Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, or specific Android and iOS devices, Vibrant Visuals is now available as part of the broader Chase the Skies update.

Chase the Skies introduces rideable Happy Ghast creatures to the overworld, offering a peaceful alternative to their hostile Nether counterparts that spew fireballs. You can now link camels together to form resource-carrying caravans and locate friends more efficiently using the Player Locator HUD bar.

Players using older consoles like PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, or older Android phones, will need to manually enable Vibrant Visuals through the video settings menu. Mojang cautions that "performance may be affected on these devices."

PC and smartphone users should meet these technical requirements:

• Android: Adreno 640, Mali-G68, Mali-G77, or Xclipse 530 or better

• iOS: A12, M1, or newer processors

• PC: Minecraft running on DX12

Vibrant Visuals currently doesn't support splitscreen multiplayer, custom Worlds, or Texture Packs.

Notably absent from today's Vibrant Visuals announcement is any mention of Nintendo Switch or the rumored Switch 2, leaving compatibility with Nintendo platforms uncertain.

On a positive note, Minecraft has finally received Xbox Series X/S optimization, five years into the current console generation.

Vibrant Visuals fulfills Microsoft's longstanding commitment to deliver a substantial graphical enhancement for Minecraft, initially announced in 2017 alongside a trailer for the since-canceled Super Duper Graphics Pack. Originally planned for Xbox One and "Project Scorpio" (which became Xbox One X), a comparable visual upgrade has now materialized.