New Minecraft mod tests 100 thousand simultaneous players in a single world

Imagine a world of Minecraft where there is no limit to the number of players. A world where 100,000 people can share the same server, building, exploring, and battling together - all at the same time. This is the bold proposal of the new mod created by Meta Gravity, which promises to revolutionize the multiplayer mode of the Mojang Studios.

Developed as a test for the Quark technology, a new networking engine, the mod completely redesigns the way Minecraft multiplayer is processed. Instead of relying solely on a server to run the world, the Quark Multiplayer distributes processing among connected clients. In other words, each player contributes computational power to keep the world active.

"Minecraft runs everything on the server, from movement and combat to block generation. The client only sends commands. With Quark, we rewrote this network layer from scratch and moved some of the simulations to the players themselves," explains Mihail Makei, senior engineer at Meta Gravity.

During testing, the team created a network of bots to simulate the behavior of tens of thousands of simultaneous players. The system was able to support 100,000 connected players at once, with up to 5,000 visible characters on screen. Even with this number, basic functionalities - such as combat, building, and resource collection - remained stable, with frame rates ranging between 20 and 60 FPS, depending on the machine.

The mod is still in development, but Meta Gravity has already announced that the final version will include support for NPCs, dynamic weather, terrain growth, as well as moderation tools and anti-cheat systems. The company plans public playtests before the official release, and ensures that the mod will be free when available.

In the meantime, game fans can explore the best Minecraft seeds or learn where to find diamonds faster. This innovation comes at a time when the Minecraft universe is on the rise, driven by the recent announcement of the official franchise movie, which has attracted a new wave of players.

If the mod proves viable on a large scale, it could usher in a new era in Minecraft multiplayer, expanding creative and social possibilities like never before.