Bedrock Edition

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Bedrock Edition
BEMenuScreen.png: Infobox image for Bedrock Edition the program in Minecraft
Author(s)
Key staff members
Platform(s)

Native

Optimized/Enhanced

Backward-compatible

  • PlayStation 5

Discontinued

  • Galaxy StoreWindows Phone 8.1tvOS
  • Fire Phone Phone
  • Fire TVGear VR
  • Windows 10 Mobile Mobile
Written in

C++ C++[6][7]

Latest version

Release: 1.21.3
Beta: beta 1.21.20.23
Preview: Preview 1.21.20.23

Release date

August 16, 2011

Android Oreo (8.0)+
  • August 16, 2011
    (Xperia PLAY only -
    Eclair (2.1)+)[8][note 2]
  • October 7, 2011[9]
  • January 30, 2013
    (Gingerbread (2.3)+)[10]
  • April 13, 2016 (Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0)+)
  • October 10, 2018
    (Jelly Bean (4.2)+)
  • April 28, 2021 (KitKat (4.4)+)
  • May 6, 2021
    (Lollipop (5.0)+)[11]
  • March 12, 2024 (Oreo (8.0)+)

iOS & iPadOS 13+

  • November 17, 2011 (4.3.3+)
  • August 15, 2013 (5+)
  • April 27, 2016 (6+)
  • June 13, 2016 (8+)
  • September 24, 2019 (iPadOS)
  • June 23, 2020 (9+)
  • November 17, 2020 (10+)
  • March 14, 2023 (11+)
  • March 12, 2024 (13+)

Fire OS 7+

  • September 13, 2012
  • December 18, 2013 (2+)[note 3]
  • April 2, 2014 (Fire TV)
  • July 25, 2014 (Fire Phone)
  • October 11, 2015 (3+)[note 3]
  • June 8, 2021 (5+)[11]
  • March 12, 2024 (7+)

Galaxy Store

  • 2014

Windows 10 Mobile

  • December 10, 2014
    (Windows Phone 8.1)
  • February 22, 2017
    (Windows 10 Mobile)

Windows 10+

  • July 29, 2015 (10+)

Gear VR

  • April 27, 2016

Oculus Rift

  • August 15, 2016

tvOS & Fire TV

  • December 19, 2016

Xbox One

  • September 20, 2017

Windows Mixed Reality

  • November 21, 2017

Nintendo Switch

  • June 21, 2018

PlayStation 4

  • December 10, 2019

PS VR & PS4 Pro

  • September 22, 2020

Xbox Series X|S

  • November 10, 2020
  • March 12, 2024 (Optimized)

ChromeOS

  • June 7, 2023

PlayStation 5

  • Upcoming
Rating(s)
Size

As of 1.21.2:

  • Windows: 1.36 GB[25]
  • iOS & iPadOS: 1.2 GB[15]
  • Fire: 931.3 MB[16]
  • Xbox: 2.00 GB[26]
  • Nintendo Switch: 1.2 GB
License

Proprietary

Source available

No

Links

Free trial

Base game

United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
  • Xbox
  • Nintendo Switch
US (Digital) (Physical)
CA (Digital) (Physical)
UK & Ireland (Digital)
United Kingdom (Physical)
Ireland (Physical)
AU/NZ(Digital)(Physical)

Deluxe Collection

United States
Canada
United Kingdom & Ireland
Australia & New Zealand

Beta

Preview

Explore infinite worlds and build everything from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles. Create, explore, and survive alone or with friends on mobile, PC, and console devices.

minecraft.net on Minecraft: Bedrock Edition
Key art by Mojang Studios

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition (just Minecraft on most platforms and in-game) refers to the multi-platform versions of Minecraft developed by Mojang Studios, Xbox Game Studios, and SkyBox Labs and based on the Bedrock codebase.

Bedrock codebase

The term "Bedrock Edition" originates from the Bedrock codebase, which was created in the C++ programming language to run on platforms that cannot support Java. Code was added to accommodate differences in the target platforms for such facilities as networking and storage access, though most of the code is used on every platform. This common core of functionality is called the "Bedrock Engine".[27]

The codebase resides within a software system that manages the pieces of code and tracks their evolution. This allows the codebase to host not only the current version but all past versions, the standalone Bedrock Dedicated Server (BDS) versions, and several Beta versions simultaneously with no conflicts.

Target platform builds are created individually, then transmitted to the platform's app store. Most stores have their own compliance requirements and subject the incoming edition to a series of certification tests before making it available for download. Xbox Game Studios attempts to synchronize availability across stores, but the certification process is not under their control and can delay an edition's availability on a certain platform, especially if it fails certification and has to go back to the developers for a fix.

Bedrock code is used for Minecraft Education, and China Edition, as well as the discontinued Minecraft Legends, Minecraft Dungeons, Pi Edition, New Nintendo 3DS Edition, and Minecraft Earth.

Nomenclature

Up until June 7, 2022[28], the name "Bedrock Edition" was not the official name of any edition of the game. Starting with the Better Together Update, all Bedrock editions of Minecraft have been named simply Minecraft. Before then, they each had a subtitle identifying the target platform, including Pocket Edition (for all mobile platforms), Windows 10 Edition, Gear VR Edition, and Fire TV Edition. The earliest of these was Pocket Edition, also known as "MCPE" or "PE", and these names were (and still are) sometimes used to refer to all the Bedrock editions, possibly even including those that were introduced after the renaming occurred.

The renaming of the Bedrock editions to Minecraft with no "Edition" subtitles created confusion in the community for several reasons:

  • This name had until then referred to the version now known as Java Edition, which is not Bedrock Edition. The Java version was renamed to Minecraft: Java Edition at the same time the Bedrock editions were renamed to Minecraft, so for a while any use of the name was hopelessly ambiguous.
  • Although officially named just Minecraft, the Bedrock editions for consoles are marketed as Minecraft for Xbox, Minecraft for Nintendo Switch, and Minecraft for PlayStation 4.[29][30][31] These names are similar to the Legacy Console Editions on the same platforms, styled as Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition, and Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition, leaving many confused about the differences between the two versions.
  • The term "Minecraft" was (and still is) also commonly used to refer to the game in general.

Together, these complications made the official name Minecraft useless for referring to the Bedrock editions collectively. The editors of this wiki, however, needed such a term in order to describe the functioning of the Bedrock Engine across all editions, so despite there not being a real Bedrock Edition, the wiki chose to use this as a term of art. Subsequently, the community adopted it as well and it is now the de facto standard term for referring to all the Bedrock editions collectively. Mojang Studios employees have also used Bedrock Edition to refer to said edition in news articles, until June 7, 2022 where both Java Edition for PC and Bedrock Edition for Windows are sold under one bundle, titled Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC, marking the first official use of "Bedrock Edition" as a subtitle in any Bedrock editions.[32]

Gameplay

The objective of the game remains the same as its Java Edition and Legacy Console Edition counterparts, where players can build virtual realities in a sandbox-like environment. Like them, Bedrock Edition has survival elements such as hunger and brewing, and the Nether and the End dimensions. The multiplayer mode is cross-platform compatible between all supported devices.[33]

Bedrock Edition differs from Java Edition and Legacy Console Edition in a variety of ways, such as more saturated graphics, different terrain generation, some exclusive items, and an official add-on system.[34] The HUD and other elements vary for each relevant device. Players can interact with the game via a keyboard and mouse, touchscreen, or a gamepad.

Differences from Java Edition include:

Some features of Bedrock Edition are available only on certain platforms.

  • Virtual reality is available only on Windows and PlayStation.
  • Importing or exporting worlds is supported only on Windows.
  • Joining servers through IP isn't supported by Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PlayStation.
  • Windows and mobile devices supports all three different control types: "Keyboard & Mouse", "Controller", and "Touch".
    • Xbox and PlayStation supports both "Keyboard & Mouse" and "Controller".

System requirements

Windows ChromeOS AndroidAndroid Fire iOS & iPadOS
Minimum version Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041 or later)[36] ChromeOS 111[36] Android Oreo (8.0) Fire OS 7
  • Latest version: Fire OS 7
  • Until 1.20.62: Fire OS 5
  • Until 1.17.0: Fire OS 3
  • Until 0.12.2: Fire OS 2
iOS 13 or iPadOS
Processor

Intel Celeron J4105 | AMD FX-4100 (Intel i7-6500U | AMD A8-6600K recommended)

AMD A4-9120C, Intel Celeron N4000, Intel 3865U, Intel i3-7130U, Intel m3-8100Y, Mediatek Kompanio 500 Any with support of floating-point calculations ("ARM-v7a code") and Neon[37] Dual-core A8 processor or later
Video card

Intel HD Graphics 4000 | AMD Radeon R5 (NVIDIA GeForce 940M | AMD Radeon HD 8570D recommended) (Minimum RTX 2060 For RTX)

Not applicable
Graphics DirectX 12 FL 11 Any with support of OpenGL ES 3.0 Metal
RAM memory 4 GB (8 GB recommended) 4 GB Greater than 1 GB 1 GB minimum
Storage 300 MB (100 MB to 1 GB is the max to save a map)
Data connection Optional (Realms access)
Supported devices
  • All devices running Windows 10 and up. Any computers running Windows 8.1 or older, will not be able to use this version of the game.
  • Pixelbook
  • Pixel Slate
  • Pixelbook Go
  • All ChromeOS devices launched in the last three years
  • Pixel (all models)
  • Most Android mobile devices
  • Fire HD (2018 or later)
  • Fire (2019 or later)
  • iPhone 6S or later
  • iPhone SE (all models)
  • iPad (5th gen or later)
  • iPad Air 2 or later
  • iPad mini 4 or later
  • iPad Pro (all models)
  • iPod touch (7th gen)

Some devices below these specifications have been known to work fine either with or without custom ROM images, kernels, and overclocking of the CPU. The MSM7227 CPU is not supported due to its lack of the floating-point unit.[38] The "Tegra 2" processor is also not supported because it lacks support for Neon.

Development

Release

A video of an early prototype was released on Twitter (now X), showing the game on the Xperia PLAY. The Alpha version was later released, and was released for different platforms on October 7, 2011. The non-exclusive version was going to be released on September 29 for Android[39] but there were several severe bugs that needed to be fixed; the release was delayed until October 7.

A version for iOS devices was confirmed to be released before 2012 in an interview with Mojang Studios[40] and was subsequently released on November 17, 2011.

Alpha

Main article: Bedrock Edition Alpha

After the initial releases for Android and iOS, updates were released in parallel, with the same features being added for both platforms. During the Alpha stage, various aspects of gameplay were introduced into the Bedrock codebase including: crafting, smelting, more blocks, items, mobs and more game modes to bring it closer to the Java Edition. As the Pocket Edition development team works closely, often blocks released on the Java Edition are released around the same time for Pocket Edition. Certain features were also tested on Pocket Edition before their Java releases, such as beetroots and their related items, and also block models.

During the Alpha phase, the Bedrock codebase was ported to more platforms: first, Pocket Edition was released for Fire on September 13, 2012, and for Windows Phone on December 10, 2014. The Windows 10 Edition Beta was released on July 29, 2015, at a higher price than Pocket Edition. Gear VR Edition was released April 27, 2016 for the same price as Pocket Edition.

Two other versions of Minecraft that are based on the Bedrock codebase, but separate from Bedrock Edition, were also released during this period. Pi Edition is a free and discontinued version of Minecraft for the Raspberry Pi, which was based on an old alpha version of Bedrock. Minecraft Education was released for Windows and macOS on November 1, 2016.

Full release

Bedrock Edition
Starting version

1.2.0 (September 20, 2017)

Latest version
Paid
  • Yes, USD:
  • Android, iOS, iPadOS, & Fire: $6.99
  • ChromeOS, Xbox, & PlayStation: $19.99
  • Windows & Nintendo Switch: $29.99

On November 11, 2016, the full release of the game, version 1.0.0 (dubbed the Ender Update), was announced. It was released on December 19, 2016, along with the Apple TV Edition and Fire TV Edition. Pocket Edition began to receive updates again for Windows 10 Mobile on February 22, 2017.[41]

From version 1.2.0, the Better Together Update, the Bedrock editions no longer have the "Edition" subtitle and are renamed to simply Minecraft.[42] A port of Bedrock Edition for Xbox One was released along with the update, and one for the Nintendo Switch was released digitally and physically on June 21, 2018.[43] PlayStation 4 users received the Bedrock Edition with the 1.14.0 update on December 10, 2019.[44] Owners of the original Legacy Console Edition for these consoles are able to download the new version for free. In October 2020, the Gear VR and Windows 10 Mobile editions of the game were discontinued.[45] In June 2021, the Fire TV edition of the game was discontinued.[46]

Beta and Preview test versions

Development Versions
Starting version

beta 1.2.0.2 (July 31, 2017)

Latest version
Paid
  • iOS & iPadOS: free
  • Windows, ChromeOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation: free with full game

Starting on November 22, 2013,[47] Mojang Studios began to publicly release testing versions of full updates to Android users who opt into the beta program, in order to get major feedback, especially for bug reporting. This enabled the official updates to be considerably more stable.

Versions from 0.8.0 to 0.12.1 required opting into a Google+ group to receive development builds. Players would then see development updates appear as normal updates in the Play Store. On July 17, 2015, the Google+ group was removed due to the amount of spam and advertisements that the group attracted.[48][49][50] On November 3, 2015, the PE Beta team published a dedicated blog[51] that was subsequently used for users to opt into the 0.13.0 beta program and to display changelogs for these development builds.

The Xbox Insider Hub app is used to opt into the beta program on Windows since July 31, 2017, and on Xbox One since August 24. Before the release of the Better Together Update, the Xbox One beta was available only to owners of the digital version of the original Xbox One Edition, and not owners of the disc version.

Starting on January 31, 2022, the beta program was expanded to other platforms, starting with iOS and iPadOS, with Minecraft Preview.[52] The previous beta program through Xbox Insider Hub has been phased out and replaced by Minecraft Preview.

Players can also test unfinished or work-in-progress features using Experimental Gameplay, a toggle that can be turned on through world settings, but once on, it cannot be turned off again in that world.

Price

Although all Bedrock editions are nearly identical, the price[note 4] varies depending on the platform. The mobile versions cost US$6.99 (£6.99), while the ChromeOS, Xbox, and PS4 versions cost US$19.99 (£19.99, £16.74, and £12.99 respectively). The Windows and Nintendo Switch versions are the most expensive, both costing US$29.99 (£24.99 and £19.99 respectively), though the Windows version includes Java Edition and the Nintendo Switch version includes some DLC. DLC purchased from the Marketplace on one platform is usable on all other platforms, but the game itself is sold separately on each platform. Xbox achievements are not shared between platforms and buying the game on one of these platforms does not get the game on the others. The Xbox and Windows versions are also playable to Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC Game Pass subscribers respectively, with both versions playable to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.[53][29] The PS4 version is PS4 Pro enhanced and is playable on the PS5 via backward compatibility.[29][54] As with all other versions of Minecraft, updates are free of charge. On Windows, the game can be launched via the Minecraft Launcher.

Sales

Minecraft sales data, up to December 2015.

As of December 2013, Pocket Edition (the only Bedrock Codebase edition at the time) had sold 16.5 million copies, while at the same time, the Java Edition had sold 13 million. These calculations came out after the 0.8.0 update.[55] This was considered a huge success, with Pocket Edition outselling both Java Edition and Legacy Console Edition, despite being considered to be the least-developed at the time.

On December 2, 2016, Marsh Davies announced that Pocket Edition had sold over 40 million copies[56] (at the time, Java Edition had sold over 24 million). This statistic included Windows 10 Edition and Gear VR Edition.

Minecraft is also usually in the top 10 and regularly #1 in the Apple App Store's and Google Play's Paid Apps Section in the Top Charts.[57][58]

Platform differences

Further information: Compare platform & features

There are several features in Bedrock Edition that are exclusive to certain platforms due to capability restrictions on different platforms. Here is a table of the features that are available only on certain platforms.

Windows ChromeOS Android iOS & iPadOS Fire Xbox One Xbox Series X|S Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5[upcoming]
Split screen No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Import & Export world buttons Yes No No No No No No No No No
Structure block 3D export Yes No No No No No No No No No
Bedrock Editor Upcoming No No No No No No No No No
Custom skins Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No
Join servers via IP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No[a] No[a] No[a] No[a] No[a]
Keyboard controls Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial[b] Yes Yes
Mouse controls Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Touch controls Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Partial[c] No No
Virtual reality Yes[d] No No No No No No No Yes[e] No
4K resolution Yes[f] Unknown No No No No Yes[f] No Partial[g][f] Yes[f]
Max render distance (chunks) Varies Varies Varies Varies Varies 28 36 12 28 36
Deferred Rendering Pipeline Upcoming Upcoming Upcoming Upcoming No Upcoming Upcoming No No No
RTX Yes[h] No No No No No No No No No
Shader language HLSL GLSL GLSL MSL GLSL HLSL HLSL GLSL PSSL PSSL
Development versions Yes[i] Yes[j] Yes[j] Yes[i] No Yes[i] Yes[i] No Yes[i] Yes[i]
Base Game Price (USD) $29.99[k] $19.99[l] $6.99 $6.99 $6.99 $19.99 $19.99 $29.99[m] $19.99 $19.99
Free trial Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes
Deluxe Collection (USD) $39.99[k] No No No No $29.99 $29.99 $39.99[n] $29.99 $29.99
  1. a b c d e Can be joined only by setting a specific custom DNS.
  2. Can be used only for chat.
  3. Can be used for inventory management and in the UI, but not for game actions (movement, attack, etc.).
  4. Via Oculus Rift, Meta Quest (via Link or Air Link), or Windows Mixed Reality.
  5. Via PlayStation VR.
  6. a b c d Requires a 4K-compatible device to be viewed.
  7. Only on PlayStation 4 Pro.
  8. Only on RTX-compatible devices.
  9. a b c d e f As Minecraft Preview.
  10. a b As Minecraft betas.
  11. a b Includes Java Edition.
  12. Includes Android version. The price turns into $12.99 if Android version was bought
  13. Includes DLC.
  14. Includes extra DLC.

Gallery

Official artwork

Old

Notes

  1. Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 versions
  2. The initial general Android release blog post said the minimum version was 2.2, but this was a typo, as shown by this later blog post that mentions both 2.1 & 2.2 as previously-supported versions.
  3. a b Determined by viewing the AndroidManifest.xml files of some APKs. See discussion here.
  4. Minecraft is sold in USD by the publishers, conversions vary from different distributors.

References

  1. "Minecon 2015 - Day Two" – Twitch.
  2. Xbox Game Studios § Subsidiaries
  3. SkyBox Labs Brings Bedrock Version of Minecraft to Nintendo Switch - SkyBox Labs
  4. Minecraft - Nintendo Switch - SkyBox Labs
  5. Minecraft - PlayStation®4 - SkyBox Labs
  6. "The Pocket Edition is ported to C++"@jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), October 7, 2011
  7. "Minecraft Franchise Fact Sheet" – Xbox Wire, April 2021.
  8. Say hello to Minecraft – Pocket Edition - Mojang.com; August 16, 2011
  9. Minecraft – Pocket Edition on Android - Mojang.com; October 7, 2011
  10. Minecraft Pocket Edition 0.6.0 Submitted - Mojang.com; January 21, 2013
  11. a b "Important news regarding Minecraft on Android and FireTV"minecraft.net, March 10, 2021.
  12. Minecraft - ESRB
  13. Minecraft PEGI Rating
  14. Minecraft | Australian Classification
  15. a b Minecraft on the App Store
  16. a b Minecraft:Amazon.com:Appstore for Android
  17. Minecraft for Windows | Xbox (ru-RU)
  18. Minecraft for Windows | Xbox (de-DE)
  19. Minecraft for Windows | Xbox (zh-TW)
  20. Minecraft for Windows | Xbox (ko-KR)
  21. a b Minecraft – Apps on Google Play
  22. Minecraft for Windows | Xbox (en-ZA)
  23. Minecraft for Windows | Xbox (pt-BR)
  24. Minecraft for Windows 10 Mobile - Microsoft Store (pt-BR)
  25. Minecraft for Windows | Xbox
  26. Minecraft | Xbox
  27. https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/better-together-faq
  28. https://minecraft.net/article/java---bedrock-edition-pc-out-june-7
  29. a b c Minecraft for Xbox | Minecraft
  30. Minecraft for Nintendo Switch | Minecraft
  31. Minecraft for PlayStation 4 | Minecraft
  32. https://youtu.be/qNMfF9TYETM
  33. Minecraft - Pocket Edition on iOS! - Mojang.com; November 18, 2011
  34. Minecraft Add-Ons: Customize Your Experience | Minecraft
  35. "Purchasing for Minecraft Java Edition is restored. You will know need to create a Microsoft account for new purchases of this version - JP"@MojangStatus on X (formerly Twitter), December 1, 2020 [sic]
  36. a b Minecraft (Bedrock) Installation Issues FAQ - Minecraft Help Center; Last updated July 22, 2021
  37. "MCPE on Android devices requires a processor that supports Neon" – MCPE-8332, comment by rplatham.
  38. MSM7000 § MSM7x27
  39. "Minecraft - Pocket Edition Touch Controls" – Minecraft on YouTube, September 26, 2011
  40. Minecraft Pocket Edition Interview With Mojang's Daniel Kaplan - Unboundgamer; September 29, 2011
  41. "Upgrade for Windows Phone players!"minecraft.net, February 22, 2017.
  42. "Better Together (1.2) FAQ"minecraft.net, September 20, 2017.
  43. "Minecraft Bedrock edition hits Nintendo Switch on June 21st! Available both digitally and physically at retail, it includes the Mario mash-up pack AND the Better Together update. Already own Minecraft on Switch? You'll be able to update to the new version for free!"@Minecraft (Minecraft) on X (formerly Twitter), May 11, 2018
  44. "Minecraft - Buzzy Bees - 1.14.0 (Bedrock)" , December 10, 2019.
  45. "Important News Regarding Minecraft Mobile"minecraft.net, July 8, 2020.
  46. "Important news regarding Minecraft on Android and Fire TV"minecraft.net, March 10, 2021.
  47. Android beta program for Minecraft PE - Mojang.com; November 22, 2013
  48. "PE BETA community in G+ that was briefly available yesterday and today was real, but we only used it for "spam control testing". >>"@missmarzenia on X (formerly Twitter), July 17, 2015
  49. "The community was removed and no longer exists. We always announce beta on our Twitter accounts and sometimes on Mojang blog."@missmarzenia on X (formerly Twitter), July 17, 2015
  50. "We were trying to limit spam amount we get from people who sign up not to test but to advertise."@missmarzenia on X (formerly Twitter), July 17, 2015
  51. "Please, read the FAQ bfore you ask a question."@missmarzenia on X (formerly Twitter), November 3, 2015 [sic]
  52. "Minecraft Preview FAQ - Home" , January 31, 2022. .
  53. Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC | Minecraft
  54. Minecraft - PS4 Games | PlayStation
  55. As Minecraft tops Apple's apps chart for 2013, Mojang talks Pocket Edition - The Guardian; December 17, 2013
  56. "Pocket Edition is 5 years old!"minecraft.net, December 2, 2016.
  57. https://apple.com/itunes/charts/paid-apps
  58. https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/topselling_paid

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