GoKawiilWinners & losers: For the first time in nearly two decades, Mojang has announced a significant change in Minecraft's hardware requirements, a rare move for one of the biggest gaming products in history. The Microsoft-owned studio wants to future-proof Minecraft: Java Edition, but players running older hardware won't be cheering this time around.
Minecraft: Java Edition now officially recommends 16GB of RAM, and that's just the starting point. Mojang recently explained that the wildly popular sandbox game is getting a more modern baseline for its system requirements, acknowledging that some players with aging systems will be disappointed as the company works to keep improving its blocky experience for everyone else.
The update arrives after 17 years without a change to Java Edition's requirements, a long stretch by any video game's standards. After nearly two decades, Minecraft has essentially grown out of its shoes: players will need stronger PCs to run future builds – no matter the impossibly expensive costs of crucial silicon components such as memory chips and GPUs.
Minecraft's system requirements officially changed on July 21, covering both the "Fast" and "Fancy" presets. The game's official store page now lists a 1080p, 30 FPS target for the Fast preset, and a 1080p, 60 FPS target for the Fancy preset. The Fast preset calls for 8GB of RAM with a discrete GPU, or 12GB with an integrated GPU. The Fancy preset, meanwhile, recommends 16GB of RAM for comfortably running Java Edition for the foreseeable future.
A 16GB recommendation might sound like a lot, especially considering Java Edition currently allocates only around 4GB of system memory by default. Mojang is also updating its CPU and GPU requirements, with stronger, modern processors, either x86-64 or Arm64, now needed to properly run the Fancy preset.
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition still has lower system requirements than Java Edition, though players will need the latter to use custom mods on PC. Mojang says the new requirements are still modest compared to modern AAA games, meaning Java Edition should keep running smoothly on most well-equipped gaming systems.
The company explained: "We want to make it clear for players what kind of computer can run Java Edition smoothly. While older devices may still launch the game, they will struggle to deliver a good experience. This can lead to low frame rates, visual issues, long loading times, or performance that doesn't match what players expect."
Guaranteed performance on older hardware is officially a thing of the past, but Mojang argues that's for the best. Leaving aging systems behind will let developers focus on meaningful technical upgrades, starting with the shift from OpenGL to Vulkan.