At some point, it was announced that the ever popular Minecraft was going to get a massive graphics update, dubbed the “Super Duper Graphics Pack.” However, Minecraft developer Mojang is apparently cancelling the overhaul effort, axing the smooth and improved new effects because they are “too technically demanding to implement.”
It was back in E3 2017 that Mojang and Microsoft had announced the Super Duper Graphics Pack downloadable content. It was an optional add-on originally slated for release back in fall of that same year, and it was supposed to add “dynamic shadows, lighting that streams through fog, movement in leaves and grass, new textures for mobs and villagers, directional lighting, [and] edge highlighting.” Mojang had labeled it “a whole new way to see the game.” They had also promised that it was completely optional, and that the original look of Minecraft wasn’t being replaced for those that didn’t want it to be.
However, after an extremely long delay of roughly 2 years, Mojang officially scrapped the graphics pack on Monday. They said “there was a lot of enthusiasm for Super Duper from inside and outside the studio – but unfortunately, we aren’t happy with how the pack performed across devices. For this reason, we’re stopping development on the pack, and looking into other ways for you to experience Minecraft with a new look.”
While it is disappointing that the Super Duper graphics pack that everyone was looking forward to got cancelled after all this time, it is good news that Mojang plans to continue in this general direction and discern new ways to add something new to Minecraft; after all, while the game is a classic and still well-loved, there’s no denying that it has been around for so long that a lack of new content hurts it. Most people turn to mods to get a fresh twist on the Minecraft formula, but a major graphics overhaul could very well breathe some new and exciting life into the game.
How exactly Mojang will go about doing this considering the apparent failure of the Super Duper Graphics Pack is a mystery, as they themselves probably don’t know what path they will take yet. That said, hopefully they’ll give their players some information soon, and it won’t take several years for this next reveal to actually come to fruition.
But until Mojang announces their next plan to give Minecraft a ‘new look,’ we’ll just have to continue entertaining ourselves with mods and the classic option.
