At E3 2017, Microsoft unveiled a new vision for Minecraft. As well as upcoming features, Mojang announced the Super Duper Graphics Pack, an addition that would radically overhaul the game’s look on the C++ Bedrock Edition.
Unfortunately, its planned release date of fall 2017 proved too ambitious. The graphics pack was designed to launch on both PC and the yet to be released Xbox One X console. Now, it seems neither platform will receive the update.
“Some of you might remember us announcing the Super Duper Graphics Pack during E3 2017,” said Mojang in a blog post. “Super Duper was an ambitious initiative that brought a new look to Minecraft but, unfortunately, the pack proved too technically demanding to implement as planned”.
Mojang says it wasn’t happy with how the pack performed across devices but did not reference which were causing issues. You’d think the Xbox One X and high-end PCs – both capable of running titles like Metro Exodus – would be more than capable. It’s possible Mojang was targetting a wider release than was initially planned.
Shifting Priorities
Previously, though, Mojang gave hints that the Super Duper Pack wasn’t a priority. The company previously indicated that it would have to rebuild the entire graphics engine to accommodate it.
According to Reddit, a now-deleted tweet from Mojang’s Aubrey Norris said the lack of votes on its MC Feedback website was one reason it was on the backburner. Of course, this angered players, who didn’t expect to have to vote for an already-promised feature.
Whatever the case, Mojang says it’s looking at “other ways for you to experience Minecraft with a new look”. The developer also says it’s looking at ways to make the most of each platform and will have more to share on that, too.
In the meantime, PC players have plenty of graphical enhancements to dive into via Minecraft’s Java Edition. It doesn’t hold the same cross-play functionality, but mods enable greatly improved lighting and even raytracing.
