Better Together Update

The Better Together Update is an update to Pocket Edition, Windows 10 Edition, Gear VR Edition, Fire TV Edition, and a new version of the game on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. It was released for Pocket Edition as version 1.2.0, and as a new, separate version of Minecraft for the Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4, known as the Bedrock Edition. Beta testing for the update for Android & Windows 10 began on July 31, 2017 and for Xbox One on August 24, 2017. It was submitted to certification for 9 of the 10 platforms on September 15, 2017. It was released on September 20, 2017 for mobile devices, Windows 10, Gear VR, Fire TV, and on Xbox One in the form of Bedrock Edition. Bedrock Edition on Nintendo Switch released on June 21, 2018, both digitally and physically. Bedrock Edition on PlayStation 4 released on December 10, 2019. Eventually, Pocket Edition for Windows phones was discontinued after the official release of the Better Together Update on September 20, 2017.

The Bedrock Edition for Xbox One is free for players who own a digital copy of Xbox One Edition or have played the disc copy of Xbox One Edition for at least 5 hours in the past 12 months or have bought at least one DLC. The Bedrock Edition for Nintendo Switch is free for players who own a digital copy of Nintendo Switch Edition. The Bedrock Edition for PlayStation 4 is distributed as an update to the digital copy or disc copy of PlayStation 4 Edition. Because both versions are part of a single piece of software on PlayStation 4, a button is available on the main menu to toggle between editions.

The official name for the update, the Better Together Update, aims to merge multiple platforms under a single version of Minecraft, reflecting the addition of cross-platform compatibility between mobile devices, Windows 10, Gear VR, Fire TV, and the port releases on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.

With the release of the Better Together Update, the original PC version was renamed to Minecraft: Java Edition in 1.12.2 to distinguish it from the Bedrock Edition.

New version-exclusive features

 * How to Play tips in the Settings menu
 * In-game shortcuts for certain commands
 * Featured servers (accessible via Servers section in Play menu)
 * New command
 * Custom characters.

Features Ported from Legacy Console Edition

 * Blocks
 * Banner
 * Coarse Dirt
 * Jukebox
 * Stained Glass
 * Structure Block
 * Items
 * Music Disc
 * Armor Stand
 * Book and Quill and Written Book
 * Firework Rocket
 * Firework Star
 * Mobs
 * Parrot
 * Generated structures
 * Ravines
 * Other
 * Ability to include a starting map and/or bonus chest when creating a world
 * Splitscreen
 * Choice of outline instead of highlight for block selection
 * Brewing Stand must be fueled with Blaze Powder
 * Added Recipe Book
 * Ability to change player skin while playing a world
 * Player permissions
 * No Quasi-connectivity (old-BUD switches)

Features ported from, or similar to,

 * New crafting system based on the Recipe Book
 * Server list
 * command for functionality similar to spawn chunks
 * Ability to change player skin while playing a world
 * Player permissions
 * Stained Glass and Stained Glass Pane are colored

Further revisions

 * 1.2.1, 1.2.2 and 1.2.3 fixed numerous bugs.
 * 1.2.5 added the ability to broadcast to Mixer and other streaming services.
 * 1.2.6 saw Realms being integrated with Xbox Live Clubs, and updated textures for horses, mules, and donkeys.
 * 1.2.6.1 was released exclusively on Android to fix numerous bugs.
 * 1.2.7 fixed even more bugs.
 * 1.2.8 fixed a lone bug with the user interface on partnered servers.
 * 1.2.9, 1.2.10 and 1.2.11 fixed even more bugs.
 * 1.2.13 added menu screen transitions, more control options; added many Update Aquatic features as Experimental Gameplay, and fixed even more bugs.
 * 1.2.14 was released exclusively on iOS to disable test commands.
 * 1.2.15 was released exclusively on iOS to fix even more bugs.
 * 1.2.16 (released as 1.2.13.60 on devices other than iOS) fixed even more bugs.

Trailer

 * Initial Release


 * Nintendo Switch Release


 * PlayStation 4 Release