Unlike games tethered to specific consoles or PC, Minecraft thrives by being everywhere. Whether you're a Mac user, a mobile gamer, or even dusting off your old Xbox 360, you can still play the popular survival game.
This incredible accessibility has propelled Minecraft to legendary status: selling more than 300 million copies in just 13 years. Of course, its ubiquity would be moot if it wasn’t also a blast to play. People of all ages are scampering around its blocky world, scavenging what they can to build castles and theme parks and fend off the game’s monstrous creepers.
However, not all Minecraft experiences are created equal. The gap in graphics and features between platforms has widened with the arrival of powerful next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series machines.
As players migrate to the latest systems, developer Mojang has been upgrading Minecraft to meet them there, with a focus on improving the game’s iconic visuals. After recently receiving a 4K glow-up on Xbox Series consoles, now it’s PlayStation’s turn.
Is Minecraft on PS5?
Mojang has announced a native PS5 version of Minecraft that’s built from the ground up to take advantage of the console’s more powerful hardware.
Best of all, the game is available to preview now at no extra cost for those who own the PS4 version, which is the only way to play Minecraft on PS5, thanks to its backward compatibility.
As Mojang notes in its announcement, the new game isn’t the finished product. Instead, it’s relying on players to test out the incomplete PS5 version and provide feedback that should filter through to the final game, helping the developer to squash any bugs.
Players can therefore expect a bumpy ride. “Preview builds will likely be unstable and are not representative of the final version quality,” in Mojang’s words.
At the time of writing, Minecraft is on sale for £6.49 on the PlayStation Store after a 50 per cent discount that ends on Sunday, June 23. A free trial of the game is also available that gives you unrestricted access to Minecraft’s open world with a time limit of around 100 minutes, or five in-game days.
What is in the PS5 preview version?
In its announcement, Mojang spends more time elaborating on what's missing from the preview than what’s new.
It says the game is designed to “run more effectively” on the PS5, but doesn’t support cross-play with other platforms outside of Realms (private worlds, or “servers,” that require a subscription) and cannot connect to the Minecraft Store.
Thankfully, we have a good idea of what to expect from those who have tried the preview. Taking to Reddit, players have listed several new features, including an increased render distance to 36 chunks from 28 (the same as on Xbox Series consoles). As a result, you should be able to see up to 28 per cent more of the game’s cuboid world, creating a more expansive vista.
Minor changes include a new PS5 button user interface and a smaller install size: 1.25GB from 1.47GB.
As for what else we could get in the final PS5 product, players will be hoping for smoother gameplay in 120fps, DualSense controller and ray-tracing support, and a PS VR2 version of the game.
How to play Minecraft’s PS5 preview
For those itching to try out the PS5 edition, you can play it now by heading to the settings within Minecraft proper and selecting “preview.” If you want to help shape the final release, you can provide your input here or on the official Minecraft Discord.
