Mojang Studios, the creators of Minecraft, announced on February 18th that the Java Edition of the game will slowly move away from using OpenGL for graphics later this year. They explained this change will help more players enjoy the enhanced visuals currently found in the Bedrock Edition.
Lots has been happening in the world of Minecraft lately! The game recently showed off some big updates coming in 2026, including baby versions of popular creatures like Zombies, Piglins, Villagers, and Drowned. While these little monsters are cute, be careful – they move faster than the adult versions! Players can get a sneak peek at the baby mob update now by testing it in the Java snapshot version of the game, which is available through the Minecraft launcher.
Minecraft: Java Edition Is Moving to Vulkan
Okay, so big news for us Java players! Mojang just announced that they’re switching how Minecraft handles graphics. Right now, it uses something called OpenGL, but they’re moving to Vulkan. What does that mean for us? Basically, we’re finally going to get those amazing visuals that Bedrock players have been enjoying! They’re calling it ‘Vibrant Visuals‘ – think better lighting, nicer reflections, and realistic sun shadows. It’s supposed to make the game look way better. They’re aiming to roll it out sometime in the second half of 2025, and we’ll be able to turn it on in the settings. It’s still being tested internally right now, so it’ll be a little while before we can all check it out, but I’m seriously hyped!
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Mojang explained that switching from OpenGL to Vulkan will enable further improvements to the graphics and performance of the Java Edition of Minecraft. While many newer PC games use DirectX12 or DirectX11, some indie games like PEAK offer players a choice between DirectX12 and Vulkan. OpenGL, created in the 1990s, is much older than Minecraft and is now considered outdated. Vulkan, which emerged in the mid-2010s, has become increasingly popular. It’s directly compatible with Windows and Linux on newer PCs and consoles.
Vulkan Support Will Have Some Growing Pains
Apple devices can now run games built for Vulkan, a graphics technology, thanks to a special feature within Apple’s Metal API – meaning these games run smoothly without any slowdown. Apple has announced that older graphics technology, OpenGL, will eventually stop working on iPhones, Macs, and other Apple products in a future update. Because of this, Mojang, the creators of Minecraft, say switching from OpenGL to Vulkan is essential to keep the game working on Apple devices. This change won’t happen all at once. Starting this summer, players will be able to test Vulkan through preview versions of the game and switch between Vulkan and OpenGL. Eventually, once Vulkan is fully integrated, the minimum computer requirements to play Minecraft will be updated.
Mojang announced that some modifications and custom content for the Java version of Minecraft will need updates before the switch to Vulkan. Because of this, players and those who create mods should get ready. The change from OpenGL to Vulkan will happen gradually, giving Minecraft users time to adapt. It’s currently unknown exactly when Minecraft will fully transition to the Vulkan API.
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2026-02-19 14:04