The world’s best-selling, open-world sandbox game isn’t known for having impressive graphics, but that could be changing. NVIDIA and Mojang have announced that real-time DXR ray tracing is coming to the Windows 10 edition of Minecraft.
The RTX version has been re-engineered with path tracing, bringing lifelike lighting, reflections, and shadows throughout the game. Glowstone, Lava, and other emissive blocks will illuminate their surroundings, while water, glass, and other reflective surfaces will show real-time reflections.
“Ray tracing sits at the center of what we think is next for Minecraft,” said Saxs Persson, Franchise Creative Director of Minecraft at Microsoft. “RTX gives the Minecraft world a brand-new feel to it. In normal Minecraft, a block of gold just appears yellow, but with ray tracing turned on, you really get to see the specular highlight, you get to see the reflection, you can even see a mob reflected in it.”