After the cancellation of the Super Duper Graphics Pack made many fans disappointed because it was “too demanding to implement” across devices, Microsoft and Nvidia announced today an upcoming graphics makeover for Minecraft by implementing real-time ray tracing in the Windows 10 version of the game.
According to the announcement by both companies before the start of Gamescom, the Windows 10 version of Minecraft will be getting the free update for owners of an Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU. A future beta version coming next year will let users preview the feature by turning on “Optional graphics with RTX” in the settings screen of the game.
“With the capabilities of this tech, you’ll be able to experience your Minecraft worlds with realistic lighting, vibrant colors, realistic water that reflects and refracts naturally, and emissive textures that light up. What does ‘emissive’ mean? It means you’re about to see Minecraft like you’ve never seen it before!,” says the post on Minecraft.net.
“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,” said Saxs Persson, Franchise Creative Director of Minecraft at Microsoft.
[Sources]: Nvidia: Minecraft with RTX: The World’s Best Selling Videogame Is Adding Ray Tracing. Minecraft.net: Render Dragon and Nvidia Ray Tracing.