Why single-player pause feature is a game changer in Minecraft Bedrock

Both Minecraft Editions — Java and Bedrock — have a pause menu that allows players to take a break while surviving the wilderness. However, there was a major difference in both editions. The pause menu on Bedrock Edition was much trickier than Java Edition since it did not really pause the game, even though players were in a single-player world. This was recently changed in a beta/preview version.

This can be a game changer for Bedrock Edition players since pausing the game is so useful in a single-player mode.

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Minecraft Bedrock's latest beta/preview brings a pausable world in single-player game mode

Bedrock Edition did not have a pausable single-player world previously

Previously, the world did not pause even though players were on the pause menu. (Image via Mojang Studios)

In most single-player games, a pause menu makes the entire game stop, including the in-game NPCs, any machines, weather, time of day, and more. This allows players to take a brief break before jumping back in.

When Minecraft was first released with Java Edition, it did the same thing as it paused the entire world when players entered the pause menu. In Bedrock Edition, however, this was not the case, not even in single-player worlds.

Even if players are in Bedrock Edition's single-player worlds, mobs, farms, day/night cycle, and other mechanics continue to work in pause menus. This made evading dire situations extremely difficult, as players did not get the time to take a break and think about their next move, or even leave the game if a real-life emergency came up. The picture displayed above clearly shows that a bear kills a player even if they are in the pause menu.

The only method to leave the game was to exit the world immediately after hitting the pause menu since that would stop the world and everything in it.

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Mojang currently testing pausable Bedrock Edition single-player worlds

The pause menu will actually pause the entire single-player world now. (Image via Mojang Studios)

In the latest Minecraft Bedrock preview 1.21.60.21, Mojang has finally added the ability to pause the game in single-player worlds when entering the pause screen. This was not the case for several years, ever since the edition first came out.

Though this feature should be always on, Mojang decided to make this feature toggleable. This feature can be turned on/off from the settings in the general section, under the pause sub-category.

In the picture above, you can clearly see that after turning the setting on in the latest preview version, the bear immediately freezes as soon as the player pauses the game.

Of course, this is a massive game-changer for millions of players. They can now properly pause the game and take a breather without worrying about the world still being active.

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