Is it safe to play old worlds in Minecraft beta and snapshots?

Mojang Studios often releases snapshot and beta preview versions of Minecraft for players to test new features for the title and offer feedback on them. Though this is a great way to learn what the community wants, it can be tedious for an enthusiast to repeatedly make new worlds in each new beta version to test upcoming content.

Moreover, one may wonder if it is safe to open old worlds in new snapshot and preview releases. The straightforward answer to this question is no. With that in mind, let us discuss the issues one might encounter if they use old worlds in new snapshots and beta previews.

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Reasons why players should not open old Minecraft worlds in new snapshots and beta previews

Minecraft snapshots and beta previews might have loads of bugs

Whenever players browse through the World List in a snapshot, a warning sign appears on existing worlds, saying that one should not open them in beta versions. One of the main reasons for this is that snapshots and preview releases for the title could have a lot of bugs in them.

If a user opens their main survival world in such a version, some bugs could break certain in-game features and permanently ruin them. Furthermore, doing so can corrupt the entire world itself, preventing it from opening in any version.

Due to these game-breaking bugs, Mojang Studios advises players to create a brand-new world in snapshots and beta previews.

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New features could appear corrupted on existing Minecraft worlds

If players open an old world in a new snapshot to enjoy all the fresh features, this content could get corrupted when they return to an older, stable version of the game.

For example, a new structure or a mob that they spawned in the world in a new preview or snapshot could break and appear with corrupted textures in an older version. This could also break the game entirely.

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Old Minecraft worlds could be removed

The sandbox game occasionally tends to remove worlds that have been used in a snapshot version by deleting the save files from the '.minecraft/versions' directory. this does not happen every time a player closes a beta version of this title. However, there is a chance they might lose their old world after using it in a snapshot.

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Methods to use an older world in new Minecraft snapshots and beta previews

If players still want to play on an old world in a new snapshot or beta preview, the only safe way to do so is to make a copy of that world and then open it in a beta game version. This will ensure that one of the world's copies will be safe.

Gamers can simply head to the World List, open a World setting, and create a copy of it. Then, they can open one of them in the new snapshot or beta preview version.