Minecraft Xbox Series X/S edition in the works
UPDATE: "Not indicative" of any specific new version, Microsoft says
UPDATE 6/9/23: Microsoft has shut down speculation that a brand new Xbox Series X/S version of Minecraft is imminently set to debut, after the a set of ratings board listings popped up online.
In a statement to Eurogamer, Microsoft said the listings were "not indicative" of any new version of the game set to launch in the "near future".
"Given the number of platforms and geographies in which Minecraft is available, we periodically go through rating reviews and updates with different regional boards," a Microsoft spokesperson told us. "This recent rating is not indicative of any new versions or platform support for Minecraft in the near future."
One day, that ray-tracing toggle will work. But, sadly, not today.
ORIGINAL STORY 5/9/23: A new version of Minecraft for Xbox Series X/S consoles is on the way.
The currently-unannounced edition has now cropped up via a pair of ratings board listings - first in August via the German USK ratings board, and now in the US via the ESRB.
Neither listing details any new feature headed to these fresh versions of Minecraft, but fans have high hopes that an Xbox Series X/S edition will finally include the game's long-awaited ray-tracing option.
Microsoft used Minecraft to demonstrate the transformative visual effects of ray-tracing made possible on Series X back in March 2020, ahead of the console's release.
Two years later, a version of Minecraft's Preview build popped up on Xbox with an "inadvertently included" toggle for "prototype code for raytracing support on Xbox consoles". Said toggle did not work, and was then swiftly removed.
Before all that, Microsoft announced then cancelled a Super Duper Graphics Pack upgrade for Minecraft on last-gen consoles, with visual upgrades for the game's Bedrock versions available for PC and Xbox One.
Does a souped-up Xbox Series X/S version of Minecraft now mean a similar version is on the way for PlayStation 5 too?
Eurogamer has asked Microsoft for more detail on what the Xbox Series X/S versions of Minecraft may entail.