Minecraft Briefly Got Raytracing On Xbox Consoles But It Was A Mistake IGN

Microsoft has reportedly started testing Raytracing in Minecraft earlier this week however, it was an error. The feature has been removed.

The feature was introduced in a preview version of Xbox consoles, however it was quickly removed after news of its inclusion. The preview contained previews of raytracing, both for Series X and Series S consoles. However, Microsoft claims that it shouldn't have been there in the first place.

The company confirmed that the previous Minecraft Preview build made available to Xbox Insiders inadvertently contained prototype code to support raytracing for Xbox consoles. "This preview code, which was a prototype code for raytracing support for Xbox consoles, has been removed. MINECRAFT doesn't reveal any near future plans to add support for raytracing to these consoles."

Inadvertently, the previous Minecraft Preview build made available to Xbox Insiders included prototype code for raytracing support on Xbox consoles. This preview code was not meant to reveal any future plans for raytracing support on consoles, was removed.

It's true that just because they're testing it doesn't mean Minecraft will get raytracing on Xbox consoles any time soon - even although Microsoft had teased support for raytracing two years ago.

Although Microsoft has now pulled the update and clarified that it won't be available on your Xbox consoles in the near future, it does mean that Microsoft is clearly working on the feature. It could, in essence, make its way to Xbox consoles... at some point.

Raytracing is only available in Minecraft on Windows. It is enhanced by Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling to improve frame rates. This is an examination of Minecraft with raytracing turned on and off.

Minecraft historians recently discovered a long-lost update. The Secret Saturday update (Alpha 1.1.1) was only available for 3 hours in the year 2010.

The mysterious nature of the latest Raytracing Update raises the question of whether Xbox gamers will ever be capable of saving the defunct Minecraft version. Or has auto-update forced it to the shadows of time?

Are you interested in learning more about Minecraft? For all the basics and survival tips and tricks for beginners, read our guide.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist for IGN. He is also a film critic. Follow him on Twitter.