Why Mojang might abandon Minecraft Java Edition in future

Minecraft has one of the best documented developments in all of gaming. From its early days in beta, Java Edition has always been the game's primary version. However, after Mojang's acquisition by Microsoft and the release of the Bedrock Edition, this seemed to change.

And as Mojang seems to spend more and more time converting Bedrock into an identical clone of Java, many players can't help but wonder what the plan for the latter is after the process is done.

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Minecraft's parity updates bring Bedrock and Java Edition closer together

Crawling is a recent Bedrock addition (Image via Mojang)

Bedrock has slowly been becoming much more similar to Java. This became most evident back in Caves and Cliffs, when seeds were finally changed to generate the same terrain between versions. The structures might still be different, but the landscape is the same. Additionally, the latest update, Minecraft 1.20, known for adding archeology, also brought many additional parity updates in 1.20's patches.

For example, Bedrock players no longer need a shovel when crafting boats and finally have the ability to crawl. Additionally, player height was changed so that Bedrock players can sneak into 1.5-block areas, something those on Java have always been able to do. And this trend shows no signs of slowing down, with popular Minecraft YouTuber Ibxtoycat tweeting that Hardcore is right around the corner for Bedrock.

For a long time, the biggest difference between Bedrock and Java were mods. The latter's players have always had access to many of Minecraft's best modpacks, while those on Bedrock were relegated to small bits of custom content released via the Minecraft Marketplace for real-world money.

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Add-ons bring Java mods to Bedrock

Addons are a powerful new Bedrock modding option (Image via Mojang)

One of the largest recent changes to the Marketplace was the addition of add-ons. Minecraft Bedrock's add-ons are almost identical to Java' mods. They are individual pieces of custom content that a player can download. Then, they can be combined however the player wants during world creation.

The Minecraft Marketplace had some amazing add-ons released alongside the announcement, indicating this might be a new golden age for Bedrock mods. The biggest downside is that a majority of them are paid rather than free. There are premium Java mods, but they are rarer. This dichotomy is flipped in Bedrock.

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Will Mojang abandon Java Edition?

Java Edition might be in its own kind of Hardcore playthrough (Image via Mojang)

As hard as it would be to imagine, due to Java Edition's historical significance in gaming as well as the public outcry there would be, it is entirely possible that Mojang and Microsoft do not want to be stuck releasing two games.

Once Bedrock and Java are the exact same game, there might not be a point, from a corporate perspective, to continue paying to develop the same game twice. And at that point, it's entirely possible that Java is discontinued in favor of the much more heavily monetized Bedrock Edition.

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That being said, the two versions of the game still have some very fundamental differences, such as how redstone operates, with many of the game's redstone engineers hating Bedrock's redstone. Until many of Minecraft's best expert-level farms are usable in Bedrock, Java Edition is probably safe, since the technical side of the game's community is one of the most dedicated.