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This feature is exclusive to Legacy Console Edition and New Nintendo 3DS Edition. 
For size limits of the world in other editions, see World boundary.

World size is an option to change the size of the finite worlds in New Nintendo 3DS Edition and Legacy Console Edition (specific to Xbox One Edition, PlayStation 4 Edition, and Nintendo Switch Edition). By default, worlds generate at the largest size available in each edition.

Legacy Console Edition[]

LargeWorldConsole

Large world type selected in the World Options menu.

In the finite worlds of Legacy Console Edition, the edge of the Overworld is surrounded by an endless sea of water preceded by an invisible barrier. The outer two chunks of the usable world is usually a smooth transition from the main landmass/noise generation to the sea of water. The edge of the Nether is surrounded by a wall of bedrock. The End is not affected by world size. Worlds are able to generate with any of the biomes and generated structures available in the current version. The tile on each edge of the Overworld and Nether is inaccessible, so the effective area is 2 tiles less on both axes.

After a world has been created, it can be expanded to a larger size. Larger worlds cannot be reverted to a smaller size. In this process, there is an option to "Overwrite World Edges", disabled by default. The description of this option reads: "When enabled, the outer 32 tiles around the world edge are overwritten by newly generated tiles to make the world size increase seamlessly. When disabled, the world size increase will leave all original tiles intact." Starting with a smaller world used to be beneficial, as one could choose to gradually expand when an update made changes to the world generation, and could therefore generate new chunks with new features. However, since updates were later discontinued on Legacy Console Edition, this benefit no longer exists.

Xbox 360 Edition, PlayStation 3 Edition, PlayStation Vita Edition, and Wii U Edition do not have the option for world size. All worlds generated in these editions are Classic size, although it is possible to expand them if they are transferred to an edition that supports larger world sizes. More villages, ocean monuments, and woodland mansions attempt to generate in Classic than in larger-sized worlds.

World size Overworld area Number of maps Nether area Nether-Overworld ratio Xbox One PlayStation 4 Nintendo Switch
Classic 864 × 864 blocks: 746,496 blocks
54 × 54 chunks: 2,916 chunks
1 × 1 map: 1 map 288 × 288 blocks: 82,944 blocks
18 × 18 chunks: 324 chunks
1:3 Yes Yes Yes
Small 1024 × 1024 blocks: 1,048,576 blocks
64 × 64 chunks: 4,096 chunks
1 × 1 map: 1 map 352 × 352 blocks: 123,904 blocks
22 × 22 chunks: 484 chunks
1:3 Yes Yes Yes
Medium 3072 × 3072 blocks: 9,437,184 blocks
192 × 192 chunks: 36,864 chunks
3 × 3 maps: 9 maps 512 × 512 blocks: 262,144 blocks
32 × 32 chunks: 1,024 chunks
1:6 Yes Yes Yes
Large 5120 × 5120 blocks: 26,214,400 blocks
320 × 320 chunks: 102,400 chunks
5 × 5 maps: 25 maps 640 × 640 blocks: 409,600 blocks
40 × 40 chunks: 1,600 chunks
1:8 Yes Yes No

New Nintendo 3DS Edition[]

The finite worlds of the New Nintendo 3DS Edition are based on the Old world type from Bedrock Edition. The edges of both the Overworld and Nether are surrounded by an invisible barrier, and the ratio of the Nether to the Overworld is 1:3 regardless of world size. It is not possible to change the size of a world after it has been created.

World size Overworld area Number of maps Nether area
Small 672 × 672 blocks: 451,584 blocks
42 × 42 chunks: 1,764 chunks
Unknown 224 × 224 blocks: 50,176 blocks
14 × 14 chunks: 196 chunks
Medium 1344 × 1344 blocks: 1,806,336 blocks
84 × 84 chunks: 7,056 chunks
Unknown 448 × 448 blocks: 200,704 blocks
28 × 28 chunks: 784 chunks
Large 2016 × 2016 blocks: 4,064,256 blocks
126 × 126 chunks: 15,876 chunks
Unknown 672 × 672 blocks: 451,584 blocks
42 × 42 chunks: 1,764 chunks

History[]

Java Edition Classic
0.0.12aThe Classic level format has a fixed area of 256×256 and a height of 64. The area outside the map is inaccessible.
It is not possible to build against bedrock surrounding the map.
0.0.14aAt some point, map size selection added with Small (128×128), Normal (256×256), and Huge (512×512) options. The game can load maps with other dimensions, but the dimensions of a map can be changed only by externally editing the world file.
?At some point, the outer tiles of the map can no longer be mined or built on, which reduces the effective build area by 2 on each axis similarly to Legacy Console Edition. However, mobs can still spawn on the outer tiles, and the area beyond them is now accessible.[verify]
Java Edition Indev
0.3120100106Map shape added, which can alter the dimensions of a world beyond the map size.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1Map size and map shape effectively removed as the Indev level format has been replaced with the Alpha level format, which has infinite worlds.
Legacy Console Edition
CU1 1.0 1.0.1Added Small, Medium, and Large world types. Large worlds are currently not available on Nintendo Switch Edition.
CU6 1.11 Added World Resize option to expand smaller-sized worlds into larger-sized ones.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0Added Small, Medium and Large world types.

Gallery[]

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