Hardcore mode officially announced for Minecraft Bedrock

Years after its debut, Minecraft: Bedrock Edition is finally receiving the Hardcore Mode feature to match its Java-based counterpart. The news was initially broken on February 28, 2024, by various content creators who focus on the game, and now Mojang has confirmed Hardcore Mode's arrival in the patch notes for the latest Bedrock preview, version 1.20.80.20.

According to Mojang's patch notes, Bedrock's Hardcore Mode is set to debut in previews by the end of Spring 2024. This is likely because the developer intends to ensure that Hardcore Mode will work as efficiently in Bedrock Edition as it does in Java Edition, which will take some time due to certain in-game bugs that persist in Bedrock.

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When will Hardcore Mode arrive on Minecraft Bedrock?

On February 28, 2024, prominent Minecraft content creators, including Ibxtoycat, Silentwisperer, and ECKOSOLDIER, reported that, according to the content creator Discord channel, Mojang was working on introducing Hardcore Mode to Bedrock Edition. This was later directly addressed by a Mojang employee who stated that the intent was to introduce Hardcore Mode after Spectator Mode was introduced.

However, because of the presence of several Minecraft bugs causing unexpected deaths, Ibxtoycat stated that it was likely that Mojang would take its time removing these bugs before adding Hardcore Mode. One day later, Mojang announced Hardcore Mode for Bedrock in the Minecraft Preview 1.20.80.20 patch notes, giving a preview release window of Spring 2024 with no concrete date for the vanilla debut.

"We're excited to say we're working on Hardcore mode for Bedrock Edition, and we hope it'll be ready for testing sometime in the Spring." - Mojang, Preview 1.20.80.20 patch notes

This statement in the patch notes seems to support that Mojang is focused on removing the most problematic death bugs before fully adding Hardcore Mode to Minecraft Bedrock. It's tough not to understand the developer's stance, as Bedrock glitches causing unexpected deaths would be incredibly detrimental to the Hardcore Mode experience since death in the mode is permanent without the use of commands to subvert it.

"With such high stakes, we want to ensure we get Hardcore Mode right before releasing it into the retail version of Bedrock Edition, so once it goes into testing it’ll stay in Preview until we’re confident the experience is smooth for both players and creators. You’ll be able to help us test Hardcore mode by submitting bugs at bugs.mojang.com and giving us your feedback on Discord or at feedback.minecraft.net!" - Mojang, Preview 1.20.80.20 patch notes

Although no concrete release date has been confirmed by Mojang, fans should keep an eye out for upcoming Minecraft: Bedrock Edition previews, as it likely won't be long before Hardcore Mode lands in these betas for players to experiment with. In the meantime, the developers will likely continue working to eliminate the most problematic glitches to keep Hardcore Mode from having a troubled vanilla launch.