Minecraft Java Edition's minimum and recommended system requirements have been raised for the first time in 17 years, in a change reported by Dexerto on July 28.
Mojang said the increase was necessary because "Java Edition needs room to keep growing," pointing to new features and technical improvements added to a game that launched in 2009.
The studio framed the new bar as a pair of performance targets rather than a single hardware list. Mojang said the updated minimum target is 1080p at 30 FPS on Fast settings, and the updated recommended target is 1080p at 60 FPS on Fancy settings, so what a given machine needs shifts with the visual quality and frame rate a player is aiming for.
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.
Dexerto notes the new figures still sit far below what a modern AAA release asks for, and that most players should be able to run the game at 1080p without trouble. Anyone on older hardware, though, may want to check their PC or laptop against the updated specifications before starting a world.
The change follows a run of structural shifts for Minecraft. The game has moved to Game Drops in place of its previous update cadence, the Bedrock version has received a major visuals overhaul with a Java equivalent promised at an unspecified later date, and players recently gained the ability to sit down.
Mojang tied the higher requirements to future work on the edition, saying that "By setting clearer recommendations, we can focus on making Java Edition better for our players." The studio did not detail what that work will involve beyond the Game Drops already planned for Java Edition.
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