After 17 years, Minecraft Java Edition starts replacing OpenGL with a Vulkan multi-threaded renderer — update will prove a boon for performance and modding
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Minecraft may be going on close to 15 years old, but the game's popularity is as strong as ever. The game's two editions (Bedrock and Java) introduced some fragmentation, however. The Java Edition's now-dated OpenGL renderer has been a headache for both performance and modding, but Mojang Studios is fixing that with a new Vulkan renderer.
The upgrade is expected to bring performance increases, improved stability, and much-improved support for contemporary graphical effects. In a blog post, Mojang says the Vibrant Visuals update is coming to the Java Edition, with testing expected to start sometime this summer.
Mojang says it kept OpenGL around for so long to make it easy to keep active ports for Windows, Linux, and macOS. That was a double-edged sword, as the studio now cites macOS support as the straw that broke the camel's back. The game was stuck on an old version of OpenGL that Macs can still use, and will likely be dropped entirely.
OpenGL and the game's rendering architecture are simply ancient by today's standards and have long been a thorn in modders' sides, as well as precluding sizable performance improvements. Besides likely being a lot faster on its own, the new Vulkan renderer will run in a separate thread from the main game logic.
Mojang's post expresses concerns about modding, a key feature that maintains the Java Edition as the primary version in the Windows/Linux/macOS space. Predictably, the studio notes the shift to Vulkan will create more work for graphical modders than a simple point update, and encourages them to try and stick to the game's internal rendering APIs as much as possible.
However, Mojang is also requesting feedback from the community, and outright tells modders that "if [the APIs aren't] sufficient for your needs, then come and talk to us", and keeps a Discord server dedicated to technical discussion. When the first test versions with Vulkan arrive, players will be able to switch between them, though Mojang asks gamers to be patient with their modders when the switch-over starts.
The update sounds pretty excellent overall, though perhaps not so for anyone still playing Minecraft on graphics cards without Vulkan support.
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Bruno Ferreira is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has decades of experience with PC hardware and assorted sundries, alongside a career as a developer. He's obsessed with detail and has a tendency to ramble on the topics he loves. When not doing that, he's usually playing games, or at live music shows and festivals.
