OpenGL and the game's rendering architecture are simply ancient by today's standards and have long been a thorn in modders' sides, as well as precluding sizable performance improvements. Besides likely being a lot faster on its own, the new Vulkan renderer will run in a separate thread from the main game logic.
Mojang's post expresses concerns about modding, a key feature that maintains the Java Edition as the primary version in the Windows/Linux/macOS space. Predictably, the studio notes the shift to Vulkan will create more work for graphical modders than a simple point update, and encourages them to try and stick to the game's internal rendering APIs as much as possible.
However, Mojang is also requesting feedback from the community, and outright tells modders that "if [the APIs aren't] sufficient for your needs, then come and talk to us", and keeps a Discord server dedicated to technical discussion. When the first test versions with Vulkan arrive, players will be able to switch between them, though Mojang asks gamers to be patient with their modders when the switch-over starts.
The update sounds pretty excellent overall, though perhaps not so for anyone still playing Minecraft on graphics cards without Vulkan support.
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/premium
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/after-17-years-minecraft-java-edition-starts-replacing-opengl-with-a-vulkan-multi-threaded-renderer-update-will-prove-a-boon-for-performance-and-modding#main
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