Minecraft is getting official RTX ray tracing support on PC from Nvidia

Minecraft
(Image credit: Nvidia)

Minecraft is getting official RTX ray tracing support from Nvidia, offering PC players glossy, shiny graphics for the blocky adventure. Nvidia, Mojang, and Microsoft studios have joined forces to bring a form of ray tracing magic known as 'path tracing' to the Windows 10 version of Minecraft, which is set to be available sometime in 2020 as a free download for all players. 

Lots of texture packs and shaders can really change up the look and feel of the Minecraft world, and likewise the addition of adding ray tracing makes a big difference to the many landscapes in Mojang’s sandbox adventure. Just looking at the comparison between a landscape with RTX on and off above shows just how good it will look, bringing in gorgeous rays of light and noticeable texture changes. 

Minecraft isn’t the only one to get a ray tracing makeover. Nvidia have also announced a whole lineup of other games that will also be getting ray tracing support in the build up to Gamescon, including the likes of Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Control, and Watch Dogs: Legion

News about this ray-tracing addition comes just after it was recently revealed the super duper graphics pack was officially canceled. The pack, was originally set to launch back in 2017, later got delayed to 2018 before being canceled altogether. Set to make some serious visual upgrades to the game, the cancellation left many feeling disappointed, but it looks like Nvidia is set to more than make up for it for PC players.

Looking to give your Minecraft world an overhaul? Check out our list of the best Minecraft texture packs, or watch the video below for an exploration into the limitations of open world games. 

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Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good. 

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