India, Aug. 18 -- Minecraft Java Edition 26.3 Snapshot 9 arrives a day earlier than expected, with a practical change for Realms owners: more control over how far the game renders and how much of the world is simulated. The snapshot also addresses a long list of bugs involving Endermen, rendering, controls, interfaces, and technical systems.

The biggest player-facing change is in Realms configuration. Owners can now adjust render distance and simulation distance separately using new sliders. Render distance can be increased to 25 chunks, giving owners more control over the balance between how much of the world is visible and how much activity the game processes.

That distinction matters because rendering and simulation serve different p...