Minecraft will become the first game on Nintendo Switch 2 to have its own Xbox achievement list. TrueAchievements reports that the version of Minecraft for Nintendo's new console, launching on October 27, 2026, has received an independent set of achievements tied to a Microsoft account, worth 2,980 Gamerscore. That's exactly the same total as the list known from the original Switch since 2018, but this time it's counted from scratch as a completely new set for the new-generation console.

Why this matters for Switch 2 players

Nintendo doesn't have, and most likely won't have, a system-wide achievement or trophy setup operating at the console level. When Polygon journalists asked Nintendo's vice president in charge of player experience, Bill Trinen, whether Switch 2 would get a system similar to the Xbox 360's, he gave a short answer: "Nope," as reported by Kotaku, among others. This decision has drawn criticism from part of the community for years, since almost every other platform (PlayStation with trophies, Steam with achievements, Xbox with Gamerscore) has such a system built into the user profile level.

In this situation, Minecraft is playing a role it's already played once before. Mojang's game was the first to bring Xbox Live achievements outside of Microsoft's own ecosystem: that happened back in 2018 with the Better Together update on the original Switch. At the time, the list contained 133 achievements worth a total of 2,980 Gamerscore, with 79 achievements worth 1,750 points belonging to the base game, and the rest spread across 18 DLC packs. Now history is repeating itself on new hardware, before the console has even gotten any other title with this kind of feature.

How achievements independent of Nintendo work

Xbox achievements aren't part of Nintendo's infrastructure, so from the trophy's own standpoint they don't require a service similar to Nintendo Switch Online. They're saved to the player's Microsoft account and synced through the Xbox Live service, the same way it works on PC, Xbox, phones, or versions for other manufacturers. In practice, this means progress toward achievements in Minecraft on Switch 2 counts toward the same Xbox profile as progress made in the PC or Microsoft console versions, even though the player is physically sitting in front of Nintendo hardware.

Based on announcements and leaked achievement lists, some of the tasks overlap with the classic challenges known from Bedrock Edition on other platforms. TrueAchievements lists sample entries from the new list, including "Smelt Everything!" for 15 points (connect three chests to a furnace using Hoppers), "I've got a bad feeling about this" for 20 points (kill a Pillager Captain), "Acquire Hardware" for 15 points (smelt iron), and "Archer" for 10 points (kill a creeper with a Bow). It's a typical set for Bedrock Edition, rounded out by additional achievements from paid DLC packs, just like on the original Switch.

Release on October 27 and the context behind the launch

The Switch 2 version is launching alongside full support for Vibrant Visuals, a graphics enhancement package with new lighting and shadows that runs as the default setting on the new console. Players who already own the game on the original Switch can expect a digital upgrade path, and saved worlds can be transferred without losing progress on a built-out world. For anyone tracking trophies, though, that's a separate matter: transferring a world doesn't carry over the achievement counter, since Bedrock Edition tracks achievements separately for each hardware platform, even under the same Microsoft account.

For Polish players who have spent years building in Minecraft on Microsoft consoles or linking up with friends through Realms, the new Gamerscore list on Switch 2 is one more reason to check their Xbox account progress on the Nintendo handheld as well. The full catalog of achievements and their requirements is being updated continuously by TrueAchievements, and the complete lineup of Bedrock and Java Edition downloads for PC can still be found on our Bedrock Edition downloads page as well as in our version overview.

What's next for achievements on the new console

Minecraft is opening a door that Nintendo itself has left closed: third-party developers can implement their own achievement systems in their Switch 2 games, but the platform doesn't offer any shared mechanism for this. Until Nintendo changes its stance, Gamerscore tied to a Microsoft account will remain the only way to track this kind of progress in cross-platform games on this console, and Minecraft is, for the second time in its history, the first title to prove it on new Nintendo hardware.

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