With the release of Xbox Series X quickly approaching, Microsoft has been steadily increasing their roll-out of information on the upcoming console. Most of the information released thus far has covered the system's specs and pack-ins like the new controller, but footage from a new technical demo for Minecraft shows just how good some of the system's games are going to look! While Minecraft has long been known more for its gameplay than its graphics, the game looks significantly more impressive on Xbox Series X. The new footage comes from a video released by Digital Foundry, and fans of Mojang's sandbox game will definitely want to watch.

In the Xbox Series X version of Minecraft, players will have the option of toggling on and off the game's ray tracing. With ray tracing turned off, the game looks just like it does on any other platform. However, when ray tracing is turned on, the game's lighting dramatically changes, and the world springs to life. Essentially, ray tracing allows lighting to work similarly to the way it does in the real world. The effect really showcases what the Xbox Series X hardware is capable of. While the overall impact will be less significant in some games versus others, in Minecraft, it makes for a jarring, yet welcome, change!



As such, some Minecraft purists might opt to keep ray tracing off. The game's graphic style has been thoroughly embraced by fans since its release back in 2011. Of course, it's hard to imagine how some players wouldn't want to see the game like this, but it is nice that Xbox Series X allows players to toggle back and forth between the two options.

It will be interesting to see how successful Microsoft's strategy will prove this console generation. According to the publisher, Xbox Series X will not offer any exclusive titles for at least the system's first year on the market. Instead, the focus will be on the system's existing library, and its compatibility across Microsoft's various platforms. It's a bold move, but the system's ability to use ray tracing to improve the look of various games, including Minecraft, could help the system's library stand out in a very big way.



Posted: Mar 20, 2020 10:21 am
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/2020/03/17/minecraft-looks-great-xbox-series-x-ray-tracing/