Microsoft sure is controversial, though they did pretty good in helping mojang make minecraft at least a little better, new launcher sucks but hey it’s just a launcher, and I guess notch possibly could’ve not left mojang after Microsoft bought their game, your thoughts and opinions?

Personally I feel that it's both.

On one hand, the updates have gotten a lot larger with each new version in recent years adding way more radical new stuff and significantly changing how a typical survival playthrough goes each update. Previously, an update may have added a couple new blocks, 1 new mob or maybe a new mechanic but the gameplay stayed pretty much the same.

On the other hand, Microsoft has already added a dodgy new launcher which you can't really modify as you can't access the files and has to connect to their server each time you play even if you just want to do offline singleplayer. I can definetely see them pushing the ingame store, minecoins and emotes to java in the future just as they did on bedrock (which I believe completely goes against what minecraft is).

Overall it has improved. However, I cannot deny it feels different.

We were supposed to have dragons. Every update has been mind numbingly conservative, and the account switch rubbed me and a lot of others the wrong way. The platform is poorly optimized, and the push of the bedrock edition of the game makes me nervous for the future of Java. I could easily see a future where the Java edition of the game has its mods and resource packs monetized. And the staff keeps making decisions that are clearly unpopular with the users. I hate to sound conspiratorial but Microsoft has been no stranger to the idea of monopolizing the gaming industry (just look at Xbox). A privatized industry can better allocate capital towards the improvement of its products, and I fear the development of new and exciting features will be far and few between.

Though I will say it definitely could have been worse...

I feel like since Microsoft bought Mojang and helped to fund it, Minecraft updates have definitely gotten a lot better. And I'll list other updates that came after Microsoft purchased Mojang and started investing in them.




The 1.9 Combat update:

Many people hated this, or at least those in the PVP community did. I am not much of a fan of PVP. However, I feel like the people complaining are simply complaining because they were either spam-clickers with no strategies or simply do not want to get used to a new system. Also, with the introduction of Elytras, parkour courses got more exciting, and we gained a lot of Elytra courses that are fun and exciting. It did bring a little bit to the End dimension but not that much. Hopefully, we'll get an overhaul one day like we did with the Nether (which I'll bring up later).




The 1.10 Frostburn Update:

This update I wasn't too fond of. Still, it did introduce some new mobs and blocks to the Nether that I feel could've been expanded then, but I suppose it only led to a more immense excitement of 1.16. Either way, this one was not the most significant update, in my opinion. This update was the most forgotten about, in my opinion.




The 1.11 The Exploration Update:

If I'm going, to be honest, I feel like this update was one of my favourites before 1.12. It brought the Woodland Mansion, which allowed players to explore and try to find it while obtaining the Exploration Map and obtaining the Totem of Undying, which is an excellent feature that can help prevent a player from dying as quickly. A major update that I feel is overlooked, even though it didn't really give much. But it gave us shulker boxes, a neat storage unit alternative to the chests and enderchests.




The 1.12 World of Colour Update:

This update is another favourite of mine. It's one that I go back to a lot because it brought quite a bit to the world of Minecraft. Especially for those of us who love to build. It brought parrots, concrete and concrete powder blocks, and glazed terracotta. We also received new sounds for the noteblocks, which extended those who love to create songs' abilities to make even more tunes. I feel like with 1.12, we received so much in terms of colour that it really expanded the ability to create whatever we desire.




The 1.13 Aquatic Update:

We finally received an update on the oceans! Giving us more exploration that I feel 1.11 opened the gateway to allowing us to explore the world of Minecraft and discover new things. It also introduced new doors, trapdoors, buttons, pressure plates and new logs such as stripped logs and bark logs. This is the third favourite because now we can really expand our creations and dive deep into the once boring oceans. I feel the Ocean Monuments that came with 1.8 could've waited to be released with 1.13, but all good things come eventually.




The 1.14 Village and Pillage Update:

This update I don't particularly see myself returning to. Still, it did give us new mobs such as the panda bears, foxes, wandering traders and wandering llamas. It also gave us lanterns, scaffolding, and new stair, slab, and sign variants. We also received barrels that allow for more storage and texturing walls if you are an avid builder, much like myself. We also received changes to villages that overhauled them, and they now appear far better than they ever have. I will say; however, I feel like, after this update, they became far too common. But this was a pretty good update with what it gave us.




The 1.15 Buzzy Bees Update:

I will say this update disappointed me a bit. It wasn't really much. I don't use the honey blocks often (and the sound truly irritates me), and I know how important bees are to the Earth. However, as someone who genuinely is terrified of them, this update is not my favourite.




The 1.16 Nether Update:

This update is my all-time favourite! I may be biased as I absolutely love, love, love me a good Nether/Hell project **cough: looking at you SilentHollow, and Aracthorne**. However, I will say this update is the biggest and really set the bar high, in my opinion, for what we may be expecting from Mojang. I feel like we could've gotten this update a lot sooner. Still, I think it just took time for them to really be able to gain the resources it took to create an update as massive as this. With new biomes, a new soundtrack from Lena Raine, as well as countless new blocks and ambiences, this update takes the cake. I feel like if it weren't for Microsoft buying Mojang, we wouldn't have gotten this update until possibly 1.20 or even never received it at all.




The 1.17 Caves and Cliffs Update:

And finally, the Caves and Cliffs update. I know many people don't particularly care for this update for some reason, but I love it. Sure the world generation is wonky, but what do you expect from an update of this magnitude? I feel like Mojang has really gotten better at terraining, and maybe they even took some ideas from those who love to do insanely detailed terrains. And the fact we got more exploration in terms of caves? Now I'm curious what else they have planned. I'd love to see a version of this in the Nether with hellish caves or something of that type.




Overall:

I know I may have missed some important key parts to some of these updates or completely rambled on for too long. However, I wanted to share the many and even quick updates we've received since Microsoft started to help fund Mojang from buying them. They didn't replace them; they just simply helped fund it. Since then, we've gotten so much, and it's intriguing where we'll go next. I'm excited to see what 1.19 brings us and what significant updates we'll get in the far future. And to the people who think it's gotten worse, are you simply not liking change or do you not like it because it doesn't fit what *you* in particular want? I understand we all have opinions but think about why Microsoft made the game worse.

**Edit 1: Idk why I put 1.18, it was supposed to be 1.19 lol. The Minecraft wiki website lied to me when it said 1.17 was the most recent update.**

I think Its gotten worse minecraft bedrock has a longer view distance also the fact that java just follows bedrocks updates so um I say has gotten worse. The 1 block strip mining is what I like about java for the most part!

Minecraft has improved dramatically over the course of the last several years. The combat update fractured the community but that's as much as consequence of dramatic improvements done to the internals of the game engine at that time as it is large portions of the player base being babies and refusing to adapt. The game easier now more than ever to modify by people with all sorts of skill levels and Mojang continues to update and revitalize old/stagnant parts of the game while also adding new and interesting features. They hold their game design choices to very strict guidelines and some of my favorite features they've added over the years are things I never would have come up with myself.