Mojang has announced the first preview of a native version of Minecraft for the PlayStation 5. Although the hit game has always been playable on the PS5, it was technically the PS4 version of the game you'd be playing.
"By developing a native version of Minecraft for PS5 we’ll be able to make the game run more effectively on the PS5’s hardware," Mojang wrote in the announcement post. "So you can lose your inventory in lava in the smoothest possible way!"
Mojang didn't get into specifics as to what is improved or enhanced with a native PS5 version, although we assume smoother gameplay in general and possibly better-looking resolutions (even though Minecraft isn't exactly known for its graphics).
The native PS5 version is currently available for preview for those who already own the PS4 version. If you want to test it out, you can navigate to "Settings" and then "Preview" within the game.
The preview build includes the recent Tricky Trials update, which arrived earlier this month. The newest update introduces Trial chambers filled with traps, tricks, and treasures. Inside these chambers, you'll find new challenges, mobs to battle, rewards to claim, and blocks to build. Those who venture deep enough into the chambers will discover two new hostile mobs: the breeze and the bogged.
The purpose of this new preview build for PS5 is to gather valuable feedback from players. Mojang says they will use player feedback and reported bugs "to ensure we can deliver the smoothest gameplay experience possible to our PlayStation 5 players when the full version of the native game is ready to launch."
As this is a preview build, Mojang also notes that some aspects are "likely to be unstable and are not representative of the final version quality."
While cross-platform multiplayer will be included in the future, for the current preview version, it's only possible between other Playstation consoles, meaning only PS4 and PS5. There is an exception when playing this preview on Realms, which allows you to cross-play with players on other devices. Mojang explains:
Realms are available in this PS5® preview, so if you have an active Realms subscription you will be able to create a preview realm. A preview realm is separate from your regular realm – this is to stop any issues from affecting your regular realms, as preview versions of Minecraft can be unstable (and we’re not just talking about the exploding creepers).
If you play this preview on Realms, you will be able to cross-play with players on other devices.
Released in 2011, Minecraft is a sandbox game created by Markus "Notch" Persson and developed by Mojang Studios. it has since become one of the best-selling video games in history with over 300 million copies sold. Even more than 10 years later, millions continue to play it regularly with nearly 140 million monthly active players as of 2023. Minecraft has been brought to basically every platform in existence, including Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, mobile, PC, Apple TV, and now natively on PlayStation 5.