Mojang raises Minecraft: Java Edition's system requirements for the first time

Mojang updated the official system requirements for Minecraft: Java Edition on July 21, marking the first change since the game launched over 17 years ago.

The old requirements were based on hardware and graphics technology that no longer reflect what the game actually needs to run well today. The new baseline expects Vulkan 1.3 support, more RAM, and a stronger CPU.

• Minimum (targeting 1080p/30 FPS on the Fast preset): a 64-bit OS; 8 GB of RAM with a discrete GPU (or 12 GB with integrated graphics); a 4-core CPU listed on the requirements page, such as an Intel Core i3-10100, an AMD Ryzen 3 3100, a Qualcomm Snapdragon X, or an Apple M1; and a Vulkan 1.3-capable GPU with at least 2 GB of VRAM.
• Recommended (targeting 1080p/60 FPS on the Fancy preset): 16 GB of RAM; a stronger modern CPU, such as an Intel Core i5-12400, an AMD Ryzen 5 5600, or an Apple M2 Pro; and a GPU with at least 6 GB of VRAM, such as an Nvidia RTX 2060, an AMD RX 5600 XT, an Intel Arc A580, or an Apple M2 Pro.

Mojang says supporting aging hardware was limiting how much it could modernize the game under the hood, particularly as it continues shifting away from OpenGL toward Vulkan.

Not immediately. Machines below the new minimum, including some older integrated graphics systems and older Intel-based Macs, will likely still launch the game, but Mojang can no longer guarantee their performance or visual quality. No hard cutoff date has been set, but the company has said it will warn players before older hardware actually loses support.

The timing is rough for anyone needing to upgrade, too: DRAM prices have spiked sharply through 2026 as fabs prioritize AI memory production over consumer DDR5/DDR4, so meeting that new 8–16 GB RAM threshold costs much more than it would have a year ago. Still, we can expect optimization mods to pick up much of the slack, at least in the short term. Something like Sodium already helps players get much of the way to the recommended specifications on hardware that technically falls short, and that gap-filling role will probably matter more than usual while the RAM crunch keeps upgrades expensive.