Mojang Studios, a Microsoft unit, has sharply raised the minimum and recommended system requirements for Minecraft: Java Edition for the first time in 17 years. Recommended memory rose fourfold to 16GB from 4GB, and graphics requirements shifted from an OpenGL-based standard to hardware supporting Vulkan 1.3.

Online media outlet GigaZine reported on July 28 that Mojang recently disclosed new minimum and recommended system requirements for the Java Edition. It said the move followed Mojang’s view that while the game’s scale and features have expanded significantly over 17 years since launch, the old requirements reflected outdated hardware and did not adequately describe today’s play environment.

The new minimum requirements are based on 30 frames per second at full HD resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 with the graphics option set to "Fast". The CPU must have at least 4 cores. The GPU must support Vulkan 1.3 and have at least 2GB of video memory. Memory requirements are 8GB when using a discrete graphics card and 12GB when using integrated graphics.

Recommended requirements were also raised sharply. They call for 16GB of memory for 60 FPS at full HD with the graphics option set to "Fancy". Recommended graphics cards include Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT and Intel Arc A580, each with at least 6GB of video memory. Supported operating systems are Windows 10 64-bit and ARM-based Windows, macOS 12 or later, and 64-bit Linux.

The most noticeable change is the memory requirement. Minimum memory rose from around 2GB previously to as much as 12GB, and recommended memory was raised to 16GB from 4GB.

Processor requirements were also updated to more recent generations. The recommended CPU was adjusted from Intel Core i5-4690 to a level comparable with the Core i5-12400 released in 2022.

Mojang said existing users will not immediately be unable to run the game. It said the game may run for the time being even on PCs that do not meet the new minimum requirements, but frame rate, image quality and loading speed are not guaranteed, and support could end in future updates. It added that users already playing smoothly may not feel a major change right away.

The change is also linked to a shift in the Java Edition’s graphics rendering technology. Mojang is gradually moving from OpenGL-based rendering to Vulkan, and it judged that continuing to support older hardware would constrain engine modernisation and performance improvements.

The company expects that aligning requirements with reality will allow it to pursue feature additions and performance optimisation for the Java Edition more stably going forward.

Mojang also stressed that the new recommended requirements are still low compared with the latest AAA games and do not call for top-end gaming PCs. It advised users buying a new PC to refer to the recommended requirements based on a full HD 60 FPS environment.

The industry views the move as a sign that a long-running game is shifting from a maintenance-focused stage to a platform-modernisation phase. Minecraft: Java Edition users are expected to need to check not only whether the game runs, but also Vulkan support and system memory configuration.