A developer known as Meesedev has made significant strides in remaking Minecraft for older consoles, including the Wii, GameCube, and Dreamcast. Their ambitious project, the Meese Engine, aims to utilize Minecraft beta 1.7.3 as a foundational reference to create an engine capable of supporting voxel-based games. The developer’s vision extends beyond mere replication; they intend to replace all existing Minecraft assets with original creations, aspiring to craft a new game that surpasses Minecraft in both gameplay and graphical fidelity.
Remarkable Progress and Performance
In a recent update, Meesedev shared impressive statistics, revealing that the engine can manage an astounding 25 million blocks while utilizing only 24 MB of RAM. This performance is particularly noteworthy, as the render distance achieved exceeds that of the Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft. “Feels unreal how well this thing is running,” Meesedev commented, expressing excitement about the engine’s capabilities. A video clip showcased the engine’s performance, demonstrating a seamless experience while flying through the world at an astonishing speed of 3,700 km/h.
Additionally, the Meese Engine has incorporated essential features such as world saving and loading, with the ability to load approximately 14,000 chunks—equivalent to around 500 million blocks—in mere seconds. This efficiency allows for a remarkable 64-chunk render distance, further solidifying the engine’s potential. Notably, Meesedev has been able to achieve these results while dedicating just one day a week to the project.
Blasting through an existing world file at 2800 km/h, holding a perfect 60 FPS with a 64-chunk render distance on the PC port of my Gamecube voxel engine. Feels unreal how well this thing is running. This is shaping up to be one of the most high-performance Minecraft-style voxel… pic.twitter.com/yiXDeFj5sTFebruary 12, 2025
While the anticipation for the Meese Engine builds, Meesedev has clarified that the project will not be fully open source. Citing concerns over potential exploitation by larger companies, the developer stated, “The costs outweigh the benefits, especially since companies could take advantage of the work without giving back.” However, there is a possibility that some smaller components may be released as open source in the future.
For those eager for more blocky adventures, exploring other games similar to Minecraft might be a worthwhile endeavor while awaiting the Meese Engine’s release.
