Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Minecraft Ray Tracing (RTX) on Windows
Ray tracing is a Bedrock Edition graphics mode on Windows that adds realistic sunlight, reflections, shadows and glowing light sources. It needs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, a GPU with DirectX hardware ray tracing such as NVIDIA RTX 20 series or AMD Radeon RX 6000 series, and a resource pack built for ray tracing. It changes only the look, not gameplay.
What do you need for ray tracing?
| Part | Minimum |
|---|---|
| System | 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11 |
| Graphics card | DirectX ray tracing GPU, such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 series or AMD Radeon RX 6000 series |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 or equivalent |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM |
| Pack | A resource pack marked as ray traced |
System needs in general: system requirements.
How do you turn it on?
Apply a ray traced resource pack, then the Ray Traced option unlocks in the graphics mode setting on a supported PC. Free official showcase maps made with NVIDIA, such as Crystal Palace and Neon District, are on the Marketplace. Packs: add-ons and Marketplace.
What does it change?
- Light rays from the sun and moon, and realistic shadows.
- Torches, lanterns, soul lanterns and end rods light up the area around them with color.
- Reflective water and metal surfaces.
- Volumetric fog that glows in sunlight.
Ray tracing or Vibrant Visuals?
Vibrant Visuals is Mojang's built-in lighting upgrade that works on many more devices without a special GPU; ray tracing goes further but needs strong hardware and drops frame rates. See Vibrant Visuals. Java has no official ray tracing; players use shader mods instead; see mods and resource packs.
Frequently asked questions
Does Java Edition have ray tracing?
No. Ray tracing is only on Bedrock for Windows.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.