Download the Minecraft demo

minecraft demo - a cow with the pc gamer logo on the side of it

You can now check out a Minecraft demo. Procrastinating excavators: you no longer have an excuse for skipping our favorite open-world game. Better yet, it has branded cows that Notch made for us. Keep in mind that these animals are specially-programmed to act as voodoo cows: when you punch them, each PC Gamer editor feels a mild thud in their chest. Be gentle.

Minecraft is a customisable beast. First, create a personalised skin or, if you're the lazy type, download one of the best Minecraft skins so you can look fly while building.

Next, install some Minecraft Mods. Minecraft is already massive, but why not add airships, muskets and Pokemon? It's almost guaranteed fun.

Finally, check out our list of the Top Ten Minecraft creations and start building!

The demo is generous: every tool, mineral and item is accessible, and you can dig, frolic, and build in your world for 90 minutes before it "locks" and becomes uneditable. You can create as many new worlds as you'd like. Let us know what you're making--send us a screenshot of your demo world to letters@pcgamer.com. Also check out a rundown of our five favorite Minecraft mods below.

Minecraft demo - the physical demo disk with an issue of PC Gamer

Image

Minecraft seeds: Fresh new worlds
Minecraft texture packs: Pixelated
Minecraft skins: New looks
Minecraft mods: Beyond vanilla

Evan Lahti
Strategic Director

Evan's a hardcore FPS enthusiast who joined PC Gamer in 2008. After an era spent publishing reviews, news, and cover features, he now oversees editorial operations for PC Gamer worldwide, including setting policy, training, and editing stories written by the wider team. His most-played FPSes are CS:GO, Team Fortress 2, Team Fortress Classic, Rainbow Six Siege, and Arma 2. His first multiplayer FPS was Quake 2, played on serial LAN in his uncle's basement, the ideal conditions for instilling a lifelong fondness for fragging. Evan also leads production of the PC Gaming Show, the annual E3 showcase event dedicated to PC gaming.

Latest in Survival & Crafting
Sci-fi character from Dune
Dune: Awakening promises us a breath of fresh air, skipping early access for a full launch with no monthly subscription in May
A shirtless man rides a big fish underwater
Ark devs distance themselves from AI-generated trailer: 'we did not know that they were doing it'
Two airships fire broadsides into each other's hull in Echoes of Elysium.
In this airship-building survival game, I faced an enemy worth punching trees over: 'The hubris of man'
Lost Rift screenshot
After suspending development in 2024, People Can Fly brings Project Victoria back to life as survival-extraction shooter Lost Rift
A man examines the implant in his beefy arm
New Ark DLC gets AI-generated trailer so awful that the original developer's washing its hands of the whole thing, and fans are in uproar: 'This is disgusting and you should be ashamed'
Palworld early access
Palworld's Crossplay Update does far more than let you play with console buddies, adding photo mode, a drafting table and 'dimensional Pal Storage'
Latest in News
Silent Hill f transmission trailer screenshots
Silent Hill f is not messing around – now it's been banned in Australia
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
'Google must divest the Chrome browser:' DOJ renews call for Google to sell Chrome, and Android could be next
Victory screen of Big Rigs showing infamous "You're Winner" message under a three-handle gold trophy
One of the worst games ever made is coming to Steam, but we won't know how cruel this joke is until we see the price tag
Sci-fi character from Dune
Dune: Awakening promises us a breath of fresh air, skipping early access for a full launch with no monthly subscription in May
Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach concept art
'The dream of the tech industry is to sell off your company at an overinflated price and retire,' says actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach, 'And I feel that's being done with game studios right now'
assassin's creed shadows protector's armor
Assassin's Creed Shadows hits 2 million players, putting it on track to be the series' most successful game yet