Minecraft Preview 1.19.40.23 brings improved vanilla parity, experimental changes, and more

Screenshot of Minecraft Preview 1.19.40.23.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios | Twitter)

What you need to know

  • Minecraft Preview 1.19.40.23 is the latest pre-release build to become available to players.
  • The update includes a plethora of changes tailored toward improving vanilla parity and general stability.
  • There are also some experimental feature updates for Spectator Mode and game APIs.
  • The newest Minecraft Preview build is now available for players to test across Xbox, PC, Android, and iOS platforms.

Players invested in Minecraft's future can participate in its development by testing out and providing feedback on Minecraft Preview builds and updates. On Thursday, Mojang Studios began rolling out Minecraft Preview 1.19.40.23, the latest such release with plenty of new bug fixes, tweaks, and technical updates to the well-known Minecraft: Bedrock Edition experience.

The update is still more modest, similar to many other recent Minecraft Preview versions, as it continues to build upon Minecraft 1.19 "The Wild Update." There are some positive changes for vanilla parity and fixes for mobile touch controls, a major experimental change to Minecraft's APIs, further tweaks to the steadily-improving Spectator Mode, and more. This pre-release build arrives not long after the public release of the Minecraft: Bedrock Edition 1.19.30 patch update.

Xbox has hundreds of incredible games, but there are few that are as influential and successful as Minecraft, which has continued to evolve for over a decade. While this Minecraft Preview build is modest and doesn't include any new features, it's likely we'll learn about the next chapter of Minecraft's journey, among other things, during Minecraft Live 2022, which is airing later this year.

The full changelog for Minecraft Preview 1.19.40.23 includes:

Features & bug fixes

Blocks

  • The book of an Enchanting Table now properly faces a nearby player

Mobile touch controls

  • Fixed a bug where items could not be removed from the hotbar by moving them onto other items in Creative Inventory on mobile devices
  • Fixed an issue where the stack splitting progress bar was not aligned on touch mode
  • Adjusted layout of the touch toolbar and status effect icons based on user feedback
  • Temporarily disabled the preview of our new Touch Stack Splitting UX while we work through feedback

Mobs

  • When a mob is a passenger in a Boat, neither the Boat nor the mob are allowed to change dimension

Performance & stability

  • Fixed a potential crash source in explosions
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when leaving a split screen session

User interface

  • Fixed a bug where death messages were sometimes too long to fit on screen
  • The inventory button for touch devices is now reset to its default appearance after closing the inventory
  • Fixed the crafting screen search string not saving correctly
  • Fixed an issue with the durability bar missing on inventory screens on Xbox
  • Fixed a bug where the sign in button on Create New World didn't work on some platforms

Vanilla parity

  • Getting killed by a mob with a renamed weapon now produces a death message with the item name
  • Wither Skeletons can now spawn inside of Wither Roses
  • Decreased the amount of hunger used while swimming to match Java Edition
  • Librarian Villagers can now offer Enchanted Books with Curse of Vanishing and Curse of Binding

Education NPCs

  • NPCs can now have no name, hiding the nametag above their head

Marketplace

  • Fixed an issue with Marketplace bundle prices not showing as free after purchasing

Technical updates

General

  • Released `BlockGeometryComponent` out of experimental in JSON formats 1.19.40 and higher
  • Released `BlockMaterialInstancesComponent` out of experimental in JSON formats 1.19.40 and higher
  • Renamed `minecraft:block_light_filtercomponent` to `minecraft:light_dampening`

Actor properties

  • Fixed `bool_property` filters that didn't specify a `value`

Commands

  • Temporarily disabled the rotation for the `/summon` command while a bug is worked on
  • Fixed a rotation issue when a Command Block executes `execute facing` and `execute rotated`
  • Implemented the `/execute in` command
  • Implemented the `/execute anchored <eyes|feet>` command

Experimental features

API

  • Major breaking change to experimental JavaScript APIs:
  • All script modules have been renamed to follow a new convention
    • `mojang-gametest` to `@minecraft/server-gametest`
    • `mojang-minecraft` to `@minecraft/server`
    • `mojang-minecraft-ui` to `@minecraft/server-ui`
    • `mojang-minecraft-server-admin` to `@minecraft/server-admin`
    • `mojang-net` to `@minecraft/server-net`

Spectator Mode

  • Shulker bullets no longer follow Spectators
  • Spectators are now invisible to normal players
  • If a player is in Spectator Mode and other non-spectating players are present on the server, the spectating player won't affect mob despawning anymore
  • If there are only spectating players on the server, mob despawning is now put on hold
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

Minecraft Preview 1.19.40.23 tests changes to make Minecraft: Bedrock Edition even better, and it's already one of the greatest ways to play Minecraft on practically every platform imaginable.

Buy from: Amazon | Xbox

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Minecraft: Java Edition and Minecraft: Bedrock Edition are available through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, making Microsoft's subscription service the best place to gain access to everything Minecraft.

Buy from: Amazon | Xbox

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Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.