Minecraft has been rated for Xbox Series X/S in the US

Currently, the Xbox One version of Minecraft is playable via backwards compatibility

Further evidence suggesting Microsoft is preparing to release a native Xbox Series X/S version of Minecraft has emerged.

As spotted by VGC contributor Andrew Marmo, Minecraft was recently classified for Xbox Series consoles by the US Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

The game was also classified last month by USK, the video games rating board for Germany.

Update6th Sep 2023 / 10:00 am

A Microsoft spokesperson has provided the following statement to VGC:

“Given the number of platforms and geographies in which Minecraft is available, we periodically go through rating reviews and updates with different regional boards.

“This recent rating is not indicative of any new versions or platform support for Minecraft in the near future.”

Currently, the Xbox One version of Minecraft is playable on Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility.

VGC has contacted Microsoft to ask about its plans for Minecraft on Xbox Series X/S.

One feature that could potentially be supported in an optmised version of the game for Xbox Series consoles is ray tracing, which Microsoft has been teasing since before the platform’s launch in 2020.

Last March, developer Mojang inadvertently included prototype code for ray tracing support on Xbox consoles in a preview build available to Xbox Insiders, before quickly removing it.

“This early prototype code has been removed from Preview and doesn’t signal near future plans to bring raytracing support to consoles,” it said at the time.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer said last month that Microsoft is committed to releasing the same games for both Xbox Series X and S consoles, and that he doesn’t see a future where the entry-level system has to miss out on some titles due to technical limitations.

He also said the price of current-gen consoles won’t come down over time in the same way as other systems have in past generations, and that he thinks a mid-gen refresh would create “a ton of complexity for creators and players”.