Minecraft is the best PC game, according to me and the RPS staff who dare not cross me. I played it for three hours today and, among the many build challenges and adventures, a small story formed around a baby pig. We named him Porky, we caged him as our pet, and in an unfortunate accident, we watched as he fell to his death from the sky island that was our home. RPS in peace, Porky.
How many befriended pigs like Porky have there been across the last several hundred hours of play? I'm not sure - dozens, hundreds - but soon such pigs might have a new form. After 15 years, Mojang are adding new types of pig to Minecraft.
]]>Two theme parks are being planned based on Minecraft. Mojang are partnering with Merlin Entertainments to open the destinations, including rides, hotel rooms and shops, in the UK and US in 2026 and 2027. Merlin are the operator of existing theme parks and attractions including Alton Towers, Legoland, Sea Life, and Madame Tussauds.
]]>Minecraft's Bundles Of Bravery update has been out for a day or so and I have already created and lost several hardcore mode worlds. I'm having a lovely time.
]]>Looking for more information about the Minecraft Pale Garden biome? The 2024 Minecraft showcase offered more details on the next Bundles Of Bravery update and a later update set to feature the new Pale Garden biome in Minecraft.
This biome comes with a new mob, wood block, moss variant and more. To see what The Pale Garden biome has to offer and when we can expect it to release, read below.
]]>Wondering what's included in the Minecraft Bundles Of Bravery update? Thanks to the annual Minecraft showcase, we know of a new Minecraft game mode due within the "next few months". This update is called the Bundles Of Bravery and will offer a new hardcore mode to Bedrock editions of the game as well as Bundles.
See below for our full rundown of everything included in the Minecraft Bundles Of Bravery update.
]]>Looking for more information about The Creaking in Minecraft? The Creaking is a new mob, due to be added to Minecraft along with The Pale Garden biome, sometime after the Bundles Of Bravery update.
This creepy fellow is reminiscent of The Weeping Angels from Doctor Who. Like them, The Creaking can only move when the player looks away from it. The Creaking are masters of disguise and fit right into the grey thickets and hanging moss of The Pale Garden.
For more information about this new mob and how to defeat it in-game, read our full Creaking rundown below.
]]>Want to know more about Minecraft Bundles? Thanks to the Minecraft 2024 Live, we got a glimpse into several new features due to be added to Minecraft. One such feature is Bundles.
Bundles will be part of the 'Bundles Of Bravery' update along with a hardcore mode for Bedrock players. Bundles are a new way to carry loot and free up inventory space when on a mining expedition. For more information on Bundles in Minecraft, see our full explainer below.
]]>Mojang want to release smaller updates more frequently for Minecraft, instead of one major update each summer. This evening's Minecraft Live stream detailed the Bravery And Bundles update, coming next, but also another update to follow in the next few months. A creepy update.
It doesn't have a name yet, but it'll add The Pale Garden, a new biome of eerie, grey trees and hanging moss that's quiet during the day, but which at night is inhabited by a new mob, the Creaking.
]]>Minecraft's yearly showcase stream took place this evening. As part of the show, Mojang showed off some of the future updates coming to the game. First up: the Bundles Of Bravery update, which will add a proper hardcore mode to Bedrock Edition, as well as bundles, which will allow you to carry more items in your inventory when out adventuring.
]]>If there's one thing I've heard from Minecraft modders when I've asked for their thoughts on the future of Minecraft, it's some variation on "fewer updates, please". This might seem unreasonable if you're not into modding, but the price of updating a game is often that you break any mods designed for it. Hence, the parts of Minecraft's history many seasoned Minecraft modders - together with server owners and pro mapmakers - remember most fondly are the longer lulls between updates.
]]>When Warner Bros released a fairly abysmal trailer for the Minecraft Movie last week, there could be only one possible result: the game's legions of fan filmmakers, modders, texture pack creators, and garden-variety players would attempt to upstage it. That process begins with the speedy release of several fan reworkings of the trailer that use something like vanilla Minecraft graphics, rather than the original, unholy fusion of LB Photo Realism and Jack Black. This'll teach Johnny Hollywood to run his grubby hands all over our beloved Creepers, eh.
]]>Warner Bros have released the first trailer for Vertigo and Legendary's Minecraft movie, the long-awaited or possibly, long-dreaded adaptation of Mojang's industry-straddling block-builder. Quick disclosure: I worked with Mojang and Microsoft on a book about Minecraft's first 15 years, shortly before joining Rock Paper Shotgun. As such, I am now obliged by the eternal laws of journalistic accountability to state that anything Minecraft-related is rubbish. But even if that weren't the case, I would describe this as pretty dismal.
]]>Minecraft's Realms servers have been down for most of the past four days. Mojang's official account for reporting service status updates noted that "intermittent failures or slowdowns" began on August 13th, and despite similarly intermittent reports of uptime in the days since, the servers remain inaccessible to most players today.
]]>Want to find all the Smithing Templates in Minecraft? Smithing Templates are unique items that allow you to change the looks of your armor in Minecraft. And one of them is extremely important if you plan on upgrading your gear with Netherite ingots. You won't simply find these lying around on the ground though, so in this guide we'll walk you through how they work, and how to find them, and how to duplicate them.
]]>Minecraft is, very often, just a nice place to potter about in. But its call to adventure rings loudly in my square ears, and now that the Tricky Trials update has dotted the underground with action-heavy, loot-filled Trial Chambers, I’m simply powerless to resist.
]]>When I play Minecraft, I mostly just want to build things, or maybe go exploring across its landscapes, which still have the power to surprise and delight me. My son, meanwhile, mostly wants to murder me - and in the game.
The Tricky Trials update, out now, might help redirect his bloodlust. It adds trial chambers full of traps and treasure, including waves of hostile mobs to battle against.
]]>Minecraft is turning fifteen years-old and to celebrate Mojang are running fifteen days of giveaways from May 15th until May 29th. Apparently each day will offer up "a new free Character Creator item representing a different year of Minecraft history."
This also means I've been playing Minecraft for nearly fifteen years. Do I care for Character Creator items? No. Will I be signing in each day on my son's account to get him the free thing? Absolutely.
]]>Armadillos, the grumpy pistachio nuts of the animal kingdom, have been added to Minecraft in a recent mob update. You can brush them to harvest "scutes", the boney armour plating of the animal's back, which you can then use to craft armour for pet wolves. Speaking of wolves, this update also sees an explosion in canine diversity, with eight varieties of the wolf now appearing across different biomes. Awoooooo!
]]>You can now explore one of Ukraine’s most iconic natural landmarks - and the largest salt mine in Europe - in Minecraft. The virtual replica of the Soledar salt mines and their surrounding town, occupied by Russia troops for the past year in real life, has been led by the wartorn country’s government in an effort to help rebuild a school destroyed during the conflict.
]]>Mojang have announced a new Minecraft subscription service, the Marketplace Pass, which grants access to a catalogue of "150+" community-created Minecraft thingy-ma-bobs. Skins, adventure worlds, survival spawns, mashups, bizarre textures - with a Marketplace Pass, the wider monetisable universe of Minecraft is your (rented) oyster, except that this being Minecraft, the oyster looks like a weird underwater trapdoor. Here's a trailer.
]]>Just a quick one before I clock off for the day: you would not believe what the kids are up to in Minecraft right now. Well, you probably would, because it's Minecraft, the sandbox building sim that contains all possibility and all human endeavour, with the exception of good PvP mechanics, yes I went there.
Anyway, Minecraft update 1.21 is just around the corner, and a few players have gotten early access via Mojang's snapshot releases. I had thought the crown jewel of the update would be the new Trial Chambers, aka trap-filled mazes. It turns out the real star might be the new Breeze mob - in the hands of imaginative players, at least.
]]>Minecraft is getting a new bit of Star Wars DLC filled with a bunch of familiar faces from the galaxy far, far away in blocky, Minecraftified form. You’ll also be able to make your own lightsaber and droid companion to take on your adventures as a Jedi padawan.
]]>Minecraft update 1.21 has been revealed, and well, looks like Mojang have been reading my posts demanding the addition of a proper maze generator, those sneaky devils. As explained by Minecraft game director Agnes Larsson, the forthcoming Minecraft update – which has yet to be given a release date – is designed to “focus more on combat adventures and on tinkering” than last year's Cave & Cliffs update.
The headline addition is an underground structure called the Trial Chamber, a procedurally generated cluster of traps and treasure rooms, fashioned from copper and tuff blocks and arranged around a central hallway. From the Minecraft Live footage this weekend, Trial Chambers look like an evolution of the game's old buried fortresses, with some nifty new flourishes in the shape of copper bulb blocks that slowly give off less and less light, and new Trial Spawners, which generate a certain number of hostile mobs based on things like the number of players in your party.
]]>Hundreds of thousands of Minecraft players are downing pickaxes and revolting against what they feel to be Microsoft and Mojang's stingy approach to updating the decade-old sandbox building sim. The trigger is this year's Minecraft Mob Vote, a community ballot to decide which of three creatures will be added to the game. Many Minecrafters feel the Mob Vote (which has extended to potential new Minecraft biomes in the past) is needlessly parsimonious, and cynically divisive: given Mojang's current headcount and Microsoft's resources, why not add all three mobs to the game, rather than asking players to do battle over scraps? And now, those players are trying to shut the whole thing down.
]]>Minecraft Live, the blockbuilder's annual event, will take place on October 15th, and bring with it news of the next update and the by-now traditional mob vote. Mojang have started to outline the mobs players will be able to vote upon, with the winner to be added to the game, and the first of the trio is an adorable crab.
]]>Minecraft Live 2023 will take place on 15th October, Mojang have announced, and it'll bring both details on the game's future - in particular, the forthcoming Minecraft 1.21 update - and yet another Mob Vote, aka pitched battle between various groups of players over which cute or alarming block monster gets added to the game next.
Minecraft! After a month reporting on the barren planets of Starfield and plundering the rather more involving dungeons of Baldur's Gate 3, it's almost steadying to remember that these supposed titans are but momentary flickers, transient particles in the sunken Creeper eyesocket of Mojang's behemoth. And what a time to rediscover the game. Vanilla Minecraft has always felt like an autumnal creation to me, even before they added all the pumpkin heads - a game of long nights and campfires, with an ambience derived from Tove Jansson's Moomin books. Anyway, here's the teaser trailer for Minecraft Live.
]]>Like everyone with a shred of taste and a pair of mostly functional eyes, I can look at Minecraft and appreciate the outrageously ambitious and detailed builds that get shared around every few weeks. Putting form to my own megastructures, though? Can’t, sorry – I already have plans to wander around and gawp at nature.
]]>With the news that Assassin’s Creed Mirage won’t get any post-launch DLC, we of the Electronic Wireless Show podcast are wondering: what are some good games that only need playing once? Not out of a lack of enjoyment or interest, but because they were so satisfying that they left nothing else to want. Or because it would be too hard to recapture the joy of a first playthrough. Or maybe because they just ended really damn well. Whatever the reasoning, join us as we ponder our favourite games that we’ve never returned to.
Plus! We chat about the games we have been playing, from Nate’s eel-dense management adventures in Clanfolk to my wilfully patch note-ignorant return to Minecraft. I also explain Team Fortress 2’s new seal mode, and Nate hijacks my thrilling hardware section on EU battery legislation to improvise a new trip up the Tower of Jocularity.
]]>Minecraft’s next big update is called Trails & Tales. We already knew about most of the new features coming with the 1.20 update, but now we’ve also learned the release date: June 7th. The additions to the perennial voxel favourite include a pretty cherry blossom biome, an archaeology feature, adorable rideable camels, and the fan-voted sniffer mob. Developer Mojang announced the date in their Minecraft Monthly video series.
]]>A new series of challenge mod packs aim to raise awareness for Long Covid and chronic fatigue symptoms using three perennial favourites: Elden Ring, Minecraft, and The Witcher 3. The initiative is called Long Covid Mode and all three mods make sweeping adjustments to the games, turning “real-world symptoms into in-game effects.” Take a look at some of the examples below:
]]>I'm always up for trying new and odd foods. I mean, I barbecued some womb in a restaurant in Japan recently, and I can confirm that it was like calamari but tougher, and, largely, a lot worse. So, that's why the idea of Pringles releasing a limited-edition Minecraft Suspicious Stew flavour intrigues me! I would like to give it a go and see if it's actually quite nice or makes me barf.
]]>I spent my morning trying and failing to rise from the depths of a vast Brutalist tower in Beton Brutal, a new first-person platformer. It's a challenging climb yet a curiously chill vibe, perhaps because any time I fall all the way down, I'm delighted to be back surrounded by overgrown plants and sculptures rising from a pond. The developer says Beton Brutal "tries to replicate and build upon the parkour mechanics seen in Minecraft," and I think I have a lot to learn. I didn't even know Minecraft had parkour.
]]>Hot (weeks) off the back of Sons Of The Forest and the Resident Evil 4 remake coming out, we're celebrating your bestest best, most favourite survival games this month. Your votes have been counted and tallied, and your accompanying words of praise and affection matched accordingly. But which game has survived to make it to the top of the pile? Come and find out as we count down your 25 favourite survival games of all time.
]]>Just in time for the upcoming film, Mojang announced that Minecraft is getting an ambitious Dungeons & Dragons crossover. Like any D&D campaign, the crossover begins around a blocky table with an open pizza box, and then it escalates into a roughly ten-hour, action-RPG take on Minecraft as you trek through the classic tabletop’s fantasy world.
]]>Building things in Minecraft takes a long time. Even in the vastly quicker Creative mode, you're limited to constructing your grand designs block-by-block. That might change soon, if leaked footage which appears to show a Minecraft Bedrock edition world editor mode is legitimate.
]]>We already know all the major features of the Minecraft 1.20 update, including the audience-voted Sniffer mob, plus cherry blossom biome and archaeology activities. We didn't previously know its name, though: the Trails & Tales update.
]]>Want to know how to install Minecraft mods? Modding is one of the very best things about Minecraft, building upon the foundation of Mojang's colossal sandbox to give players a plethora of brand new experiences. We've already put together our list of the best Minecraft mods we've come across, but if you're looking for a tutorial on how to start using these mods, this is the guide for you.
On this page we'll explain how to install any Minecraft mod. We'll also explore the two main mod loaders - Forge and Fabric - and which one you should pick while modding in Minecraft. And further below we'll offer some recommended mod launchers to help make the modding process much simpler and easier for you.
]]>Mojang have spent the week revealing new details of Minecraft's 1.20 update, including two of the things pictured above: the new Sniffer mob, which won a public vote to be included in the game; and the less expected new cherry blossom biome. Both seem adorable.
]]>Can you transfer pets in Minecraft? If you've just started playing Minecraft and discovering everything about each biome's local wildlife, you may be interested in taming a handful of animals and taking them home as your pets. It's a fairly straightforward process to turn a tameable animal into a pet; what's not so straightforward is the process of transferring ownership of an existing pet to another player.
If you're playing Minecraft in a multiplayer world and looking to transfer pet ownership from one player to another, then depending on whether you have cheats enabled you may be in for some disappointment. But if you do have cheats enabled and you're willing to input a few commands, then keep reading to find out exactly how you can change the owner of a pet in Minecraft.
]]>How do you make an End Portal in Minecraft? So, you've conquered the Minecraft Overworld, and you've delved deep into the Nether, and now you're wondering what the next big step in your Survival adventure might be. Or perhaps you're creating your own spectacular Minecraft build in Creative Mode, and an austere End Portal is just what you need to complete your masterpiece.
Either way, this guide will help answer all your questions. Below we'll walk you through how to find an End Portal in Minecraft Survival Mode and complete it with Eyes Of Ender. We'll also explain how to create your own End Portal in Creative Mode, for those who are more interested in building than exploring.
]]>Do you need a Microsoft account in order to play Minecraft? Back when Minecraft was first becoming famous as perhaps the greatest sandbox survival game of all time, all you needed in order to start playing was a Mojang account. But these days, Mojang is owned by Microsoft, and getting into Minecraft even after having purchased the game can be a little confusing.
Below we'll answer the question of whether you need a Microsoft account to play Minecraft, and how to migrate your old Mojang account if needed.
]]>Want to change your gamemode in Minecraft? There are four different gamemodes to choose from in Minecraft: Survival, Creative, Adventure, and Spectator. Each one offers a very different experience to the rest, and help to tailor each Minecraft game to your needs and desires.
If you're running into issues trying to change your gamemode in Minecraft, fear not. Below we'll explain how to change gamemode either using the gamemode switcher tool or using commands, and we'll also show you how you can (temporarily) enable cheats in your Survival game so you can change your gamemode there as well.
]]>Looking to learn how to fish in Minecraft? Fishing has been a staple of survival games for well over a decade, and one of the most famous examples is in Minecraft. Mojang's sprawling sandbox gives players the chance to easily indulge in a bit of fishing. But dig a little deeper and there's a fair bit to know if you want to really maximise your chances of getting the real treasures hiding deep in Minecraft's waters.
On this page, we'll explain every step of the Minecraft fishing experience, from crafting your first fishing rod and enchanting it with all the best traits, to all the loot chances of each fish and piece of junk or treasure. We'll also go over some handy tips to keep in mind while you're enjoying a spot of fishing.
]]>How do you make a Nether Portal in Minecraft? Whether you're a new player just starting to learn the intricacies of interdimensional travel in Minecraft, or you're a seasoned speedrunner looking for the fastest possible way to reach the Nether, you've come to the right place.
To reach the Nether in Minecraft, you first need to build a Nether Portal. These Portals can sometimes be found partially built in the world already, but it's always a good idea to know exactly how to build a Portal when the time comes to venture into the dangerous hell-like dimension in search of Minecraft Potion ingredients, or the ultra-strong Netherite material used to forge the best tools and equipment in the game.
In this guide, we'll walk you through how to make a Nether Portal from scratch either using Obsidian blocks or simply a lava source and some water. But then we'll go a step further, and reveal one of the fastest possible ways to build a basic Nether Portal. Practice this method, and you'll be able to build and activate a Portal from scratch in under 16 seconds!
]]>Revisiting Minecraft to discuss whether it deserved the GOTY award back in 2010 is a hard task, in the same way that discussing the importance of sliced bread is hard. It’s so significant that, when ranking the significance of other similar things, we all forget it until someone goes “wait wot about Minecraft” and then everyone unleashes a collective “oooo yeahhh”, guaranteeing it the top spot. To echo AliceB’s sentiments upon revisiting Portal, it’s fuckin’ Minecraft.
In fact, I think I could take her Portal revisited intro, replace every instance of “Portal” with “Minecraft”, and call it a day. It’s Minecraft! Of course it was game of the year. It was arguably the game of the decade, an absolute all timer. I won’t spend many words explaining why it is good, because those words would be redundant fodder, like the bloke fighting a soaring dragon by poking the ground under his feet with a sword. I’ll give it a fair go so that Alice can’t say I didn’t try, and swiftly move on to reading all of your (hopefully) lovely comments about why you also like Minecraft. If everyone brings one thing, we can have a show-and-tell.
]]>Is Minecraft down right now? If you're asking that question, then you're likely to be running into some issues logging onto Minecraft's servers right now. As with all giant live service games, the servers that keep Minecraft itself running do sometimes have downtime - both expected and unexpected. The question is whether that's what's happening right now, or if the problems are on your end.
Below we'll quickly explain the current situation with Minecraft, and answer the question of whether Minecraft servers are currently down. We'll also reveal whether Minecraft has any scheduled maintenance coming up in the future, so you're always as prepared as possible for any upcoming downtime on the horizon.
]]>Microsoft have reported worldwide technical issues with multiple Microsoft services this morning, including Minecraft, Xbox Live, Teams, Outlook and other 365 products. In a Twitter thread from Microsoft's 365 Status account, they said the problems have been caused by “networking configuration issues”, and that a recent network change had been rolled back. It's hoped this will solve the access problems people have faced trying to use these services this morning, but lingering issues may still be kicking about.
]]>Minecraft players are a creative bunch, that’s undeniable, but someone decided to spend more than three months planning out the whole of Toto’s 1982 classic song Africa using the game’s note and command blocks. Stacinator has shared their efforts on YouTube and the Minecraft subreddit for all to see. I'd encourage you to have a watch of the full Minecraft Africa video, and wonder why Toto’s only other famous tune is Rosanna.
]]>I knew Minecraft had an ending, but I didn't know that ending consists of an unskippable 9 minute long poem. I also didn't know that last month the author of that poem, Julian Gough, placed it into the public domain, which according to him he's legally entitled to do because nobody at Mojang or Microsoft ever successfully got him to sign a contract.
He now says Microsoft are stonewalling any attempts to contact them about whether or not they own the copyright, and that this silence killed a piece he'd written for an unnamed "global news organisation" because they didn't want to risk drawing the ire of Microsoft's 1700 strong lawer team. That piece was actually an edited version of Gough's blog post from last month, where he explained the situation and submitted the poem to the public domain - while making multiple references to the poem being written by the universe, and also how taking psychedelics lead him to conclude that not allowing himself to be compensated would be a "blockage of the flow of love". It's a trip.
]]>Who among us hasn't wished to be a cool hacker from the movies, like Hugh Jackman in Swordfish (a classic)? In real life hacking things is apparently quite dangerous and hard, but in video games we can crack the system and mutter "I'm in" under our breath as often as we want. Naturally, there have been some fabulous hacking games on PC over the years, and we've collected what we think are the cream of the crop of the best hacking games to play on PC right now.
]]>I played hundreds of hours of Minecraft in the years after its original release, but hadn't returned again until recently. It turns out the standalone expansion I needed was a son. He's six years in development and today I introduced him to a private Minecraft multiplayer server for the first time. Exploring, building, and the vibes are all as wonderful as I remember.
Perfect timing: Mojang have just released a series of Minecraft "Soothing Scenes". There are five in total and each one is an hour-long video featuring a recreation of a Minecraft setting, from rainy swamp to cosy fireplace, to help you unwind.
]]>Minecraft Bedrock Edition has been updated to 1.19.50, bringing seven brand new default skins into that particular version of the survival crafting game. These newbies are more diverse than stalwarts Steve and Alex, and Mojang intend for them to be more representative of Minecraft’s global player base. Wave hello to Makena, Efe, Noor, Kai, Ari, Sunny, and Zuri. Watch the trailer below to see the new default skins teaming up to build a giant alpaca.
]]>The winner of this year’s Minecraft mob vote has been revealed, and it’s a giant creature called the sniffer. Sniffers are helpful beasties who can search up ancient seeds that grow into plants you can decorate with. The friendly cow-turtle-dog-thing won the vote held to decide Minecraft’s new mob, held for 24 hours between Friday and the start of Minecraft Live on Saturday. Sniffer topped the poll with more than half of the 3.5 million votes cast. You can watch the result being announced in the video below.
]]>I find I have next to no interest in the coming Gotham Knights, but a blocky recreation of Gotham in Minecraft? Yeah, that's cute. It's part of what's coming in the newly announced Batman DLC for Minecraft, as well as the ability to fight Batman's rogue gallery including the Penguin, Poison Ivy and The Joker.
]]>Blocky action RPG Minecraft Dungeons sees the arrival of the mob-packed Fauna Faire, its third seasonal update, on October 19th. Today’s Minecraft Live stream showed more of what to expect from the new season of Minecraft Dungeons, including four-player multiplayer for the Tower, a new merchant who handles enchantments, and a free new jungle biome level. I just like the look of the mob-themed onesies, personally.
]]>Minecraft’s next major update will swell the survival sandbox’s roster of player characters to nine, in an effort to make the game more diverse and improve representation. Existing default picks Steve and Alex are going to be joined by seven new characters who reflect the wider world, although Mojang wouldn’t reveal any more about them ahead of today's Minecraft Live stream. Not even their names, alas. I was going to suggest Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub, but then realised that leaves one short. Gandalf, maybe?
]]>Mojang showed more of their upcoming action strategy spin-off Minecraft Legends at Minecraft Live today, including an early look at the game’s four-player co-op. We also found out more about what your hero uses to battle against the piglin invasion, and met some of the game’s key allies. Take a look at the trailer below to get a fresh look at to expect when Legends launches in 2023.
]]>Minecraft players have been able to vote on a new mob once a year ever since 2017, and this year’s polling begins today. Things are working a little differently for 2022’s mob vote, though. Instead of casting your vote on Twitter, you’ll be able to head into a dedicated carnival-themed Bedrock server, do it in the Minecraft launcher, or on Minecraft.net. Devs Mojang will reveal which mob scored the most votes during the Minecraft Live livestream tomorrow.
]]>It's been a hot minute since we last gathered round the RPS Time Capsule vault (thanks, Gamescom), but at long last we have returned with another cracking year of PC games to preserve: 2011. In hindsight, it's a bit of an interesting year for Time Capsuling purposes, as we're now getting to the point where games from this era are getting their own remakes and remasters, or fancier, super duper director's cut special editions. We've included the original 2011 release of one of these games in this month's Time Capsule, but there's another notable exception we've decided to save for further down the line. I mean, seriously, would you really recommend vanilla Skyrim from 2011 over 2016's Special Edition?
]]>Minecraft Legends was first announced at Geoff Fest earlier this year, and a smidge more footage dropped again at a Nintendo Direct Mini. But despite both of these events, it's been difficult to ascertain what the game actually, well, is. Aside from being a real-time strategy spin-off, there's been nothing else to scan with our eyeballs for more info.
Colour me intrigued, then, as I sat in a quickfire presentation at this year's Gamescom and bore witness to some mythical gameplay. I can now report that what Minecraft Legends appears to be is as mix of real-time strategy and building, made all the more approachable by being set in Minecraft's colourful cube-verse.
]]>Minecraft: Java Edition's latest update introduced a new player reporting tool, which allows players to submit "inappropriate chat messages or dangerous behaviour" for moderators to review. That seems like a good thing on the its face, but many Minecraft players aren't happy that it extends to private servers.
Naturally, because this is Minecraft, players have changed what they don't like. There are now mods which strip messages of information tieing them to your player profile.
]]>An update to Minecraft: Java Edition is causing frustration among players over the possibility of being kicked out of their own private servers. Minecraft’s 1.19.1 update released yesterday, but its introduction of a player reporting tool has been worrying players since the update went into pre-release in June. While you’re pondering the future of Minecraft, you can watch a really awkwardly timed, tongue-in-cheek video from Mojang below.
]]>NFTs and blockchain can provoke either groans or extreme enthusiasm, but Mojang Studios have come down firmly in the groan camp when it comes to people using the technologies in Minecraft. In a statement published to the Minecraft site, Mojang said they were addressing community concerns about their position on NFTs and blockchain. Mojang said their position on the technologies is that “integrations of NFTs with Minecraft are generally not something we will support or allow”.
]]>Mojang Studios announced Minecraft Legends during this month's Summer Geoff Fest, dubbing it an "action strategy" Minecraft spin-off that's being made in collaboration with Blackbird Interactive, the folks behind Homeworld 3 and Hardspace Shipbreaker. And that was the extent of our knowledge at the time. Well, thanks to Nintendo's latest Direct Mini, we got the briefest slice of new gameplay which expands our knowledge just a smidge further. Seems fun? I think?
]]>After spinning an action-RPG off Minecraft in 2020 with Minecraft Dungeons, Mojang Studios today announced the blocky builder is venturing into another new genre with an "action strategy game" named Minecraft Legends. Due to launch in 2023, Mojang are making it with Blackbird Interactive, the studio behind Homeworld 3 and Hardspace: Shipbreaker. Have a peek in the announcement trailer below.
]]>It’s finally happened. The Bedrock and Java editions of Minecraft will be packaged and sold together on PC from today. Don’t worry if you own one edition and not the other though: Mojang have confirmed that players will receive access to whatever edition they don’t own in the coming days, free of charge. Both editions can be accessed from the Minecraft launcher. They’ll retain their respective features and stay separate from one another.
]]>Because I now live in a country that isn't the UK, I get different bank holidays to staff in the UK, which it turns out is almost everyone else. This means I'm at work today and Friday. For other people outside the UK who don't know, this weekend it is celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. She's the first UK monarch to manage 70 years on the throne, most of the other ones having killed each other or somesuch. The country, specifically England, has responded to this by going absolutely off the boil, represented even in digi-form with a virtual street party map in Minecraft. I wouldn't normally write about it, but it gives me an excuse to republican-post on main when nobody is looking.
]]>Mojang have revealed that Minecraft’s first major update of 2022, 1.19 The Wild, will arrive on June 7th to zhuzh up the game’s wildlife and biomes. There’ll also be some new aggressive mobs to contend with if you choose to venture down into the dark underground.
]]>Minecraft's Caves And Cliffs update was so big it got split into two, but even still there were other ideas that got pushed further back. Some of those ideas will feature in the The Wild Update, which now seems to be edging closer to its own release. Yesterday, Mojang launched the first 1.19 pre-release update - and showed off some of its new creatures in a developer livestream.
]]>A bit later than planned, but we're back once again for another edition of The RPS Time Capsule, in which the RPS Treehouse undergoes a collective mind-melting experiment to pick their favourite, bestest best games from a specific year to be preserved and saved until the end of time. This month, we've shifted our game preservation gaze to 2009, so read on below to find out which games made the cut, and which have been cast off into the eternal games bin.
]]>Andorra Telecom, the only Internet service provider in the tiny European principality, has suffered a series of cyber attacks disrupting Internet access nationwide—and supposedly it's all over a Minecraft tournament. The Twitch Rivals tournament SquidCraft Games over the weekend included a number of players in Andorra, several of whom dropped out after their connections exploded. Trying to blast a whole country offline to ruin a Minecraft tournament sounds like the setup for a bad YA metaverse novel but may be a terrible vision of our future.
]]>I’m rubbish at the building component of Minecraft; it’s much easier to simply download a map and wander around in the splendour of someone else’s creation. And if you’ve got the ray tracing beta version of Minecraft for Windows installed, I can heartily recommend you too take a wander through the Nvidia RTX Winter World: a vast, Christmassy and very, very pretty custom map that has you helping Santa throw a festive shindig while you trade sweets with his elves.
]]>Come one, come all, and witness one of the coolest Minecraft homes I've ever bothered to help make. Look, I'm not usually a builder in survival crafting games. I'm an explorer (and frequent dier). But, with the Caves & Cliffs Part 2 update that arrived last month, I've had a newfound purpose: create the coolest home I can find in the biggest cave I can find. And so I give to you, the upside down deepslate pyramid (located right beneath some festive tundra!)
]]>As someone with bipolar, I have often wondered why sinking several hours into something soothing such as Shovel Knight does so much for my soul. However I recently read that Geek Therapy, a non-profit advocating the use of video games for wellness, promote using world-building games such as Minecraft, Roblox, Animal Crossing, and Fortnite to help people deal with mental health issues. While play therapy has long promoted the therapeutic powers of escapism to imaginary worlds, it is more recently that thought has gone into how these online experiences can be used to combat my, I mean someone's, anxiety and depression.
]]>Want to know the new Minecraft height limit? The latest 1.18 update for Minecraft brought a whole new host of features, like new ways of generating mountains and caves, as well as shuffling around where certain ores can be found. But one particularly important change is raising the height limit. This means players can build taller and more detailed structures, as well as have more of the world available to them to explore. Read on below to find out the new Minecraft height limit and depth limit for 1.18.
]]>We've waited so long for Minecraft's Caves & Cliffs update to be complete, but it's finally here. Caves & Cliffs Part 2 arrived today, bringing with it deeper underground layers, taller mountains, and a couple of new biomes to explore. I've been really eager for the 1.18 update specifically so I can build a nice home in the new Lush Cave biomes. Underground houses are the best! And now I can live near pretty cave plants!
]]>At long last, we have a date for Minecraft's Caves & Cliffs Part 2 update. On November 30th, Mojang will give the game's mountains and caves a makeover, adding new sub-biomes and letting folks explore deeper than before. I'm very much looking forward to the new Lush Cave biomes, which are gonna be full of vines, moss and pretty blossoms. I reckon that would make a lovely location for an underground home.
]]>Yeah yeah Xbox Game Pass For PC offers a load of great games at a suspiciously low price, but what about Microsoft's actually big games? Finally, the big'un has arrived: Minecraft. Both the original Java and cross-platform Bedrock versions of Minecraft arrived on Microsoft's subscription service today, packaged into a unified launcher. This comes ahead of plans to give all PC Minecrafters access to both versions next year.
]]>Want to know what happened to Fireflies in Minecraft 1.19? Fireflies were a new mob originally planned to arrive in the next Minecraft update, Minecraft 1.19, but that is no longer the case. Mojang recently revealed that Fireflies were scrapped and will no longer appear when the update launches on 7 June. This move, due to some fan backlash about the function of Fireflies in-game, may have seemed surprising so close to launch.
Below, we'll explain what happened to Fireflies in Minecraft 1.19 and why they were removed. We'll also cover what they would've done in-game had they been added as originally planned.
]]>Want to know more about Mangrove Swamps in Minecraft 1.19? One of two new biomes in Minecraft's latest update, The Wild Update, Mangrove Swamps are home to a new type of tree and Frogs, a new mob. The new Mangrove Trees found within are completely different from trees found in other biomes, as they have huge, twisted roots that you can grow using a propagule rather than sapling. Mangrove Swamps also contain lots of mud, a new block type that you'll slightly sink into while moving.
In this guide, we'll explain everything you need to know about Mangrove Swamps in Minecraft 1.19, including how to grow your own Mangrove Trees using a propagule.
]]>Want to know how to find and breed Frogs in Minecraft 1.19? Frogs are one of the new mobs in Minecraft's latest update, Minecraft 1.19. This new mob can appear in various biomes across the overworld, but there are multiple variants that have different effects. If you want to get every Frog variant in Minecraft 1.19, you'll also need to know how to breed Frogs so that you can get Tadpoles that grow into the various types.
In this guide, we'll explain how to find and breed Frogs in Minecraft 1.19, so that you can locate this new mob and easily get one of each Frog variant.
]]>Want to know more about the Allay in Minecraft 1.19? After a long wait since the mob vote at Minecraft Live 2021, the Allay has finally arrived in Minecraft. One of many new mobs in the Minecraft 1.19 update, the Allay is a passive creature that resembles a blue fairy. It is an incredibly useful partner to have for those who like mining, building, and generally gathering resources - all of which are crucial parts of Minecraft.
In this guide, we'll explain everything you need to know about the Allay in Minecraft 1.19, including how to find and tame the Allay.
]]>Minecraft Dungeons has finished telling its story through a number of DLCs that have released over the last year, but Mojang isn't done with the blocky Diablo-like just yet. They're introducing seasonal updates that they're calling Seasonal Adventures, adding progression systems, challenges and more - similar to the new Sea Of Thieves' Seasons. Season 1 will be called The Cloudy Climb, and it's coming this December.
]]>With Minecraft's Caves & Cliffs part 2 nearly upon us, Mojang have revealed the next big update that will follow it. Named The Wild Update, it'll focus on enhancing some of the existing areas we can explore and, importantly, adding colourful frogs! They'll arrive with the new Mangrove Swamp biome, along with tadpoles, fireflies and more. The Wild Update will also introduce the Deep Dark biome, which was supposed to arrive with Caves & Cliffs, but needed a little more time in the oven.
]]>For years and years, Minecraft's Java and Bedrock editions have lived apart, but Mojang finally have plans to unite them. They plan to package the two together next year as the Minecraft PC Bundle, so if you own one you'll get the other too. Ahead of this, both Java and Bedrock are coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC on November 2nd, which is lovely news. I've only ever owned Java, so it'll be nice to have the option to jump into Bedrock too.
]]>Mojang's big all-things-Minecraft show Minecraft Live is coming up this weekend and, like last year, they'll have players voting on which new creature should be added to the game. They've shown off just one of the options so far, the Glare mob that can alert you to monster-spawning light levels. It seems like a neat little friend, from what we can see down here in the little teaser video, but I'm wondering if there's more to this new mob than they've let on. We'll be seeing more new mob options throughout this week as the show and the vote approach.
]]>Want to learn about RTX ray tracing in Minecraft? When you think of gorgeous graphics, Minecraft might not be the first thing that comes to mind. Sure, it has a charming aesthetic, and texture packs can make your worlds look really unique, but it isn’t very realistic. However, Nvidia have now created ray traced RTX worlds in Minecraft that will completely transform your experience.
This guide will explain everything that you need to know to get RTX ray tracing in Minecraft, including the minimum requirements for ray tracing.
]]>Want to learn more about Dripstone in Minecraft? Minecraft 1.18 brings a huge terrain generation overhaul along with many new biomes. Some of those biomes are new cave types that you can explore, adding some much-needed character to your underground escapades. Dripstone caves have some of the most refreshing changes, with a new block type that you can use to create an infinite lava source, or some particularly pointy traps. Below, we'll cover everything you need to know about Dripstone, including how to find it and how to use Dripstone to create a lava farm in Minecraft.
]]>Want to know more about the Warden in Minecraft 1.19? Minecraft's latest update, The Wild Update, brings plenty of new features, including new biomes and mobs. In one of those biomes, known as the Deep Dark, you may find a new miniboss named the Warden. This monster is a powerful enemy, but it's also one of the main highlights of The Wild Update. Whether you want to force an encounter or just learn how to avoid the Warden, knowing more about this miniboss is crucial if you want to plan an adventure into the Deep Dark's Ancient Cities to find some of Minecraft 1.19s new items.
In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about the Warden, including how to find and avoid the Warden in Minecraft 1.19.
]]>Want to build an epic Castle in Minecraft 1.20? We've got quite the range for you here, with everything from the idyllic Arendelle castle to the gothic homestead of Count Dracula. Whether you're trying to build a spooky horror-themed world for your friends to explore or simply hope to recreate the iconic Dover Castle, we've got something for everyone. Check out the list below to jump to your favourite build, or have a scroll through and see which Minecraft castle idea gives you the most inspiration.
]]>Want some cool tower ideas for Minecraft 1.18? Towers are always fun to build, with spiralling staircases that lead to mysterious secrets, trap doors that descend into the murky depths of an evil wizard's lair, and rooms that scrape the sky. There's a lot to love, so it's no surprise you've decided to build one. Of course, the hardest part of any Minecraft build is knowing where to start. Fortunately, we've got a list of tower ideas that should fill you with inspiration and make it easier than ever to build your own soaring spire.
Below, you'll find 7 different tower ideas that we found particularly awesome, with everything from faithful renditions of well-known landmarks to recreations of famous fictional builds from the MCU. You can use the links below to jump through the page if a certain tower takes your fancy, or look through them all to get the creative energy flowing.
]]>Looking for Slimes in Minecraft? Slimes are notorious in Minecraft. The gentle squish and squelch as they hop around might not seem ominous, but these big blobs can be tough in groups. Slimes are also very useful, as they are the main way to get Slimeballs in Minecraft, which are used in a variety of recipes. Of course, when you need a Slime to get Slimeballs, they're much harder to find. Fortunately, we've got a few ways to find Slimes in Minecraft, using either a Slime chunk finder or a Slime farm.
In this guide, we'll explain everything you need to know to find Slimes in Minecraft. We cover how to use a Slime chunk finder online using your world seed, and also dive into how you can make your own Slime farm.
]]>Want to know how to make and activate a Beacon in Minecraft? Beacons have two very important uses in Minecraft, as they give you status effects whilst also emitting a beam of light that can act as a waypoint marker to guide you and your friends home.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to make and use a Beacon in Minecraft, including how to get a Nether Star, which is one of the ingredients you will need.
]]>Want to know how to spawn and defeat the Wither boss in Minecraft? Minecraft 1.18 might be here with new sprawling terrain generation that gives the world a new look, but there's nothing wrong with revisiting the classics. The Wither is a powerful boss mob in Minecraft that you can summon for one hell of a challenge. This guide will cover everything you need to know to spawn, fight, and defeat the Wither in Minecraft, so gear up and read on to battle this terrifying monster.
]]>Want to know how to make a Book in Minecraft? Books are very important, as you will need them to enchant your armour and weapons with various effects. You can also make pretty bookshelves to spruce up your home, if you aren’t interested in becoming an all-powerful wizard.
This guide will walk you through everything that you need to know to make a Book in Minecraft, including how to get Paper and Leather, which you will need.
]]>Long gone are the days when the best battle royale games were all about picking up colourful guns in an ever-shrinking safe zone. There are still plenty that fit that description, of course, but now we have battle royales about swinging swords, wobbly beans, and wrestling, too, giving us a huge variety to choose from. The best battle royales all have one thing in common, though: they're all about being the last person (or people, for team games) standing. Oh, and you usually battle it out in weird and wonderful costumes.
]]>Minecraft Live is coming back for another online announceathon and celebration both mining and crafting next month. Mojang have revealed that the digital event kicks off on October 16th, promising interviews, reveals and a vote on the next mob to be added to Minecraft. There are no specifics about what we'll see beyond that, but I'm at least hoping we'll hear a little more about the long-awaited Caves And Cliffs update too.
]]>During a very productive lunch break, I noticed that a Minecraft mod I loved had recently been updated. The original Physics Mod turned all your mined blocks into crumbled gibs, which made mining a bit more fun, but caused some lag. The updated version is way better. The lag is gone, and the developer has added configurable physics settings across the whole game. You can have fun with the realistic ragdolls and collapsing trees, or turn you can all the sliders up and live like you’re in the very relevant movie of Inception.
]]>Mojang may have notably snapped off the caves and cliffs bits from the first half of their Caves & Cliffs update to Minecraft, but it looks like the second half will be worth the wait. Mojang released an experimental snapshot for 1.18 yesterday and folks have started finding some absolutely wild worlds created by the new terrain generation. If you've not had time to take it for a spin for yourself, here are quite a few screenshots and videos of some things that have been spotted so far.
]]>In the past year, I’ve been in a battle between Minecraft’s performance and acceptable aesthetics. Ultimately, I came down on the side of performance. I installed a series of mods based around the Fabric API. They boosted my frame rate to the moon while retaining the game’s visual charm, but I couldn’t add any of Minecraft's best shaders to it. Shaders run on the Forge API, and require Optifine, which isn’t nearly as performance enhancing as the Sodium mod running on Fabric. It chafed.
But I just discovered a mod that could change everything. Iris Shaders runs on Fabric and adds shader support to Sodium. The battle might be over!
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