Minecraft has unveiled a significant update today, coinciding with the launch of its PS5 version. This latest iteration introduces a highly anticipated Hardcore Mode, among other enhancements. As the game commemorates its 15th anniversary, it continues to solidify its status as the best-selling video game of all time, with over 300 million copies sold across various platforms.
New Features and Enhancements
- Hardcore Mode
- A brand new game mode that elevates the challenge.
- Locked to the highest difficulty setting.
- Players face permanent death; upon losing, they become spectators.
- Bundles
- A new item type allowing players to stack various blocks and items in a single inventory slot.
- Bundles can hold a maximum of one stack (typically 64 items) of assorted types.
- Crafting a bundle requires one String above one Leather.
- Accessibility Features
- Reintroduction of left-handed mode for touch devices.
- Text-to-speech voiceover added for items in Marketplace Pass and Realms Content tabs.
- Gameplay Changes
- Wind Charges can no longer be hit immediately after being thrown.
- Interacting with beds now sets respawn points, unaffected by nearby enemies.
- Hardcore mode is now fully operational, locking the game to Survival and Hard difficulty.
- Players retain velocity when colliding with the edge of the generated world.
- Numerous fixes have been applied to mob attacks and behaviors.
- Creative Inventory Changes
- Items have been reorganized for more intuitive sorting.
- Specific item groups have been relocated to align with logical categories.
- Block Changes
- New block instances have been created for various items, such as mushroom_stem.
- Visibility issues with vines and spawner sounds have been addressed.
- Commands
- The ShowRecipeMessages game rule is no longer classified as a cheat.
- A new ‘entity_offset’ parameter has been added to the camera command.
- User Interface Updates
- The Armor HUD now updates correctly when equipped armor breaks.
- Various improvements have been made to menu interactions and tooltips.
- Mobs
- Adjustments have been made to mob drops and behaviors, such as Polar Bears now dropping Cooked Fish.
- Wolves and other pets can teleport to their owners more effectively.
- General Bug Fixes
- Numerous bugs affecting gameplay, mob behavior, and commands have been resolved.
- Known Issues
- Certain visual and placement bugs persist, particularly in scenarios with slow connections.
- VR / MR Support
- Support for VR/MR devices will conclude in March 2025, with a final update scheduled for release then.
