World size is an option to change the size of the finite worlds in New Nintendo 3DS Edition and Legacy Console Edition (specific to Xbox One Edition, PlayStation 4 Edition, and Nintendo Switch Edition). By default, worlds generate at the largest size available in each edition.
Legacy Console Edition[]
Large world type selected in the World Options menu.
In the finite worlds of Legacy Console Edition, the edge of the Overworld is surrounded by an endless sea of water preceded by an invisible barrier. The outer two chunks of the usable world is usually a smooth transition from the main landmass/noise generation to the sea of water. The edge of the Nether is surrounded by a wall of bedrock. The End is not affected by world size. Worlds are able to generate with any of the biomes and generated structures available in the current version. The tile on each edge of the Overworld and Nether is inaccessible, so the effective area is 2 tiles less on both axes.
After a world has been created, it can be expanded to a larger size. Larger worlds cannot be reverted to a smaller size. In this process, there is an option to "Overwrite World Edges", disabled by default. The description of this option reads: "When enabled, the outer 32 tiles around the world edge are overwritten by newly generated tiles to make the world size increase seamlessly. When disabled, the world size increase will leave all original tiles intact." Starting with a smaller world used to be beneficial, as one could choose to gradually expand when an update made changes to the world generation, and could therefore generate new chunks with new features. However, since updates were later discontinued on Legacy Console Edition, this benefit no longer exists.
Xbox 360 Edition, PlayStation 3 Edition, PlayStation Vita Edition, and Wii U Edition do not have the option for world size. All worlds generated in these editions are Classic size, although it is possible to expand them if they are transferred to an edition that supports larger world sizes. More villages, ocean monuments, and woodland mansions attempt to generate in Classic than in larger-sized worlds.
| World size | Overworld area | Number of maps | Nether area | Nether-Overworld ratio | 
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | 864 × 864 blocks: 746,496 blocks 54 × 54 chunks: 2,916 chunks |
1 × 1 map: 1 map | 288 × 288 blocks: 82,944 blocks 18 × 18 chunks: 324 chunks |
1:3 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Small | 1024 × 1024 blocks: 1,048,576 blocks 64 × 64 chunks: 4,096 chunks |
1 × 1 map: 1 map | 352 × 352 blocks: 123,904 blocks 22 × 22 chunks: 484 chunks |
1:3 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Medium | 3072 × 3072 blocks: 9,437,184 blocks 192 × 192 chunks: 36,864 chunks |
3 × 3 maps: 9 maps | 512 × 512 blocks: 262,144 blocks 32 × 32 chunks: 1,024 chunks |
1:6 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Large | 5120 × 5120 blocks: 26,214,400 blocks 320 × 320 chunks: 102,400 chunks |
5 × 5 maps: 25 maps | 640 × 640 blocks: 409,600 blocks 40 × 40 chunks: 1,600 chunks |
1:8 | Yes | Yes | No |
New Nintendo 3DS Edition[]
The finite worlds of the New Nintendo 3DS Edition are based on the Old world type from Bedrock Edition. The edges of both the Overworld and Nether are surrounded by an invisible barrier, and the ratio of the Nether to the Overworld is 1:3 regardless of world size. It is not possible to change the size of a world after it has been created.
| World size | Overworld area | Number of maps | Nether area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 672 × 672 blocks: 451,584 blocks 42 × 42 chunks: 1,764 chunks |
Unknown | 224 × 224 blocks: 50,176 blocks 14 × 14 chunks: 196 chunks |
| Medium | 1344 × 1344 blocks: 1,806,336 blocks 84 × 84 chunks: 7,056 chunks |
Unknown | 448 × 448 blocks: 200,704 blocks 28 × 28 chunks: 784 chunks |
| Large | 2016 × 2016 blocks: 4,064,256 blocks 126 × 126 chunks: 15,876 chunks |
Unknown | 672 × 672 blocks: 451,584 blocks 42 × 42 chunks: 1,764 chunks |
History[]
| Java Edition Classic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0.12a | The Classic level format has a fixed area of 256×256 and a height of 64. The area outside the map is inaccessible. | ||||
| It is not possible to build against bedrock surrounding the map. | |||||
| 0.0.14a | At some point, map size selection added with Small (128×128), Normal (256×256), and Huge (512×512) options. The game can load maps with other dimensions, but the dimensions of a map can be changed only by externally editing the world file. | ||||
| ? | At some point, the outer tiles of the map can no longer be mined or built on, which reduces the effective build area by 2 on each axis similarly to Legacy Console Edition. However, mobs can still spawn on the outer tiles, and the area beyond them is now accessible.[verify] | ||||
| Java Edition Indev | |||||
| 0.31 | 20100106 | Map shape added, which can alter the dimensions of a world beyond the map size. | |||
| Java Edition Infdev | |||||
| 20100227-1 | Map size and map shape effectively removed as the Indev level format has been replaced with the Alpha level format, which has infinite worlds. | ||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| CU1 | 1.0 | 1.0.1 | Added Small, Medium, and Large world types. Large worlds are currently not available on Nintendo Switch Edition. | ||
| CU6 | 1.11 | Added World Resize option to expand smaller-sized worlds into larger-sized ones. | |||
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added Small, Medium and Large world types. | ||||
Gallery[]
Classic world type selected in the World Options menu in the Legacy Console Edition.
Small world type selected in the World Options menu in the Legacy Console Edition.
Medium world type selected in the World Options menu in the Legacy Console Edition.
