In my free time, I love playing Minecraft, and I am always searching for newer, better ways to play the game.
I have been playing almost my whole life, and I was always in the “Latest Release” version of Minecraft. However, as I continued playing, I started wondering how to play in snapshots, with some of the newest items, and also what it would be like to play in the first version of Minecraft: Minecraft 1.0.
Over the years of playing, I have started to learn some tips and tricks of how to do this, so without further to do, here is my article on how to play in different versions of Minecraft and how to play in the latest snapshot.
If you would like to see the video version of this step-by-step process, you can watch it below:
1. Go to the Installations Tab in the Minecraft Launcher
For the first step, you must have Minecraft installed and you must have an account with Mojang. Once you open the game launcher, visit the “Installations” tab on the top menu bar, next to the “Play” tab.
2. Choose Between a Release or Snapshot Version
This is what your launcher should look something like; however if you don’t see the “Latest Release” or “Latest Snapshot” options like shown in the picture above, don’t worry because you probably have not created them yet.
The top three boxes in the top right of the launcher, as highlighted in the picture, are what you want to mess around with.
If you came to this article wanting to make a new snapshot to play in, make sure that only the “Snapshots” button is checked, whereas if you cam looking for how to play in a different release of Minecraft, make sure that only the “Releases” box is checked (Don’t mess around with the “Historical” box unless you know what it does).
3. Create the New Version
Once you have accordingly selected a box, click on the button labeled “New” with the little plus icon to customize and start creating your version.
4. Select Which Release or Snapshot
After you have clicked the “New” button, your Minecraft launcher will look something like this. To select which release or snapshot you want, click on the highlighted box labeled “Version”.
If you chose to create a new release, the options will look similar to the picture on the left, and vice versa, if you chose a snapshot it should look like the picture on the right.
No matter which type you chose, however, the latest version will always be the top option, as you can see in the pictures above with the top options of “Latest Release” and “Latest Snapshot”.
5. Download the Selected Version
Once you have chosen your desired version to play in, click the green “Create” button in the bottom left corner to confirm/save your settings, and download the new version.
If you have done everything correctly so far, then your installation that you just downloaded will show up here. Great Job!
(Mine shows up as “<unnamed installation>” because I didn’t name it, however if you did it will show up under the name you gave it.)
6. Choose the Installation to Launch in, and Play!
Now that you have downloaded the version, go back to the “Play” tab by selecting “Play” in the top menu bar. Next, click on the button at the bottom of the screen that should say “Latest Release”, but it might say something different.
Now choose the installation that you have just created, and click play!
If you have followed these steps closely, then once you load into the Minecraft game you will be ale to see the release/snapshot number in the lower left corner, or in the top bar of the game.
I hope that this article was exactly what you were looking for, and has cleared things up for you, allowing you to easily switch between different Minecraft releases and/or snapshots!
If you have any further questions or comments, check out my video here, leave a comment, or shoot me an email at: grant.steins@gmail.com.
Grant Reviews: The Kids' Perspective 