Minecraft Preview for Bedrock Edition: All you need to know

Minecraft has been one of the biggest names of modern gaming for years now. It achieved this through the hard work of its team and its community. One of the many features that makes Minecraft what it is today is the constant release of updates, fixes, and new content.

Each game stage goes through intensive beta testing by both the dev team and the community. Java Edition is tested via snapshots and pre-releases, while Bedrock Edition is tested through its beta program.

However, this changed recently as Mojang just released the "Minecraft preview", a better and more extended version for the Bedrock beta program. While the current Bedrock beta can only be played on Windows, Android, and Xbox, Preview will help expand that and make the testing phase more accessible for players on different platforms.

Mojang emphasized that the Preview beta program would be a standalone program and would consist of a separate application that players can use to access the testing versions of the game.

This would mean that their primary game files would remain untouched and that players could play both the latest and the beta versions on the same device simultaneously.

---

Minecraft Preview and the future of beta Bedrock testing

Platforms

Minecraft Preview is available for iOS and Windows (Image via Apple (left) and Microsoft (right))

In a blog post earlier today, Mojang said that the Preview program is currently available for iOS, Windows 10 and Windows 11 users. They also stated that they are working on bringing the application to other platforms, which were not specified. This is great news for iOS players as the beta was only available for Android and not iOS before.

Meanwhile, the ongoing Beta for Bedrock will still be available for a good chunk of time on Xbox One, Android and Windows. However, it will be discontinued and essentially "retired" after the new program drops.

Additionally, the Preview program will be added to the Xbox Game Pass and the game's Launcher as 2022 progresses. This will be highly convenient for millions of PC and Xbox users, especially those players who use the same account on both platforms.

---

How to install Minecraft Preview on iOS, Xbox and Windows

• For iOS, players will need to opt into the Preview by following a link and visiting a URL that Mojang will provide. While the program is similar to how the Beta program ran on Android and will have limited spots initially, Mojang ensures players that more spots will eventually open up for testing.
• For Xbox and Windows, players will need to check their Games and Apps library. The application will automatically appear in their Library and will be accessible, free of cost, from there.

---

Features that won't come to Minecraft Preview

Mojang has emphasized that players will not be able to import their worlds in the Preview application. While the feature is temporarily unavailable, they do want to add it at a later date. Some other features that won't be available in the current version of the application are:

• Realms and Featured servers
• Achievements
• Cross-platform multiplayer capabilities
• The Marketplace (This feature, however, will be available on some unspecified platforms)

The game's community is one of the most significant factors that make or break a beta testing sequence of the game. The feedback received from players is analyzed and implemented into the game, improving the vanilla experience for every player.