Minecraft developer Mojang says it has ended development on the game’s Super Duper Graphics Pack, an effort to overhaul Minecraft’s graphics with slick new effects, calling the feature “too technically demanding to implement.”
Microsoft and Mojang announced Minecraft’s Super Duper Graphics Pack downloadable content at E3 2017. The optional add-on, which was originally planned for release in fall 2017, would have added “dynamic shadows, lighting that streams through fog, movement in leaves and grass, new textures for mobs and villagers, directional lighting, [and] edge highlighting.”
Mojang called the DLC “a whole new way to see the game,” but promised that it was entirely optional. “Minecraft’s original lovely look is going nowhere,” the developer said at the time.
On Monday, after a lengthy delay, Mojang officially scrapped the graphics pack, saying, “there was a lot of enthusiasm for Super Duper from inside and outside the studio – but unfortunately, we aren’t happy with how the pack performed across devices. For this reason, we’re stopping development on the pack, and looking into other ways for you to experience Minecraft with a new look.”
