Millions of players worldwide take pleasure in playing Minecraft Java Edition, the original version of the game.

If you want to download and use Minecraft on your Windows computer for free, check out the three methods mentioned in this post.

Minecraft 1.21.1 debuted for Java Edition on August 8, 2024, as a hotfix update to fix a few critical exploits that were being used to intentionally crash multiplayer servers.

Minecraft: Java Edition 1.19.3 is the next major patch update for the game, and its first Release Candidate snapshot is now available to test. Mojang Studios hopes it'll be the last.

Minecraft: Java Edition 1.19.3 Pre-Release 1 is now available to testers, with the snapshot including a handful of additional technical changes. The full update should be arriving in a few weeks.

Despite being such a recognizable title, there are many different versions of Minecraft, some of which have quite comprehensive in-game differences.