Old Minecraft Versions: How Many Survive in the Launcher

18 August 2026 · 5 min read

GameMapa editorial · how we check facts
Checked: Claude (AI) — fact-checked against the Ukrainian original; not proofread by a native speaker

Mojang’s official launcher still holds 35 old alpha versions and 26 old beta versions of Minecraft — they sit in the very same file the launcher uses to fetch the current game.

Below is what that file actually is, which versions survive in it, and what this list deliberately does not tell you.

What the version manifest actually is

The official Minecraft launcher does not store the version list on its own. Every time you open it, it reaches out to a file hosted on Mojang’s servers, commonly called the version manifest. That file lists every build the launcher knows how to install, from the newest release back to the oldest experimental prototypes. The same file that hands you the current version of the game also carries entries that are more than a decade old.

Alphas and betas: how many are left

Every version in the manifest is tagged with a type. Entries of type old_alpha number 35. Entries of type old_beta number 26. Together, these are two large groups of early builds that existed before Minecraft ever reached a proper release.

Alpha and beta are standard software development terms: alpha is an early version, tested mostly by the developers themselves and the most dedicated fans, still missing or unfinished in places; beta is a later stage, closer to the final shape but still capable of breaking. The manifest keeps these labels literally — the old entries are typed old_alpha and old_beta.

The oldest entry: rd-132211

The oldest version you can find in the manifest at all is called rd-132211. It is dated 13 May 2009. This is not yet a game in the usual sense — it is one of the earliest public test prototypes, long before the alpha and beta numbering even existed.

The first proper release: version 1.0

The first version the manifest labels not as an alpha or a beta, but as a proper release, is 1.0. It shipped on 17 November 2011. More than two years of development separate rd-132211 from 1.0, and the game passed through every one of those alpha and beta builds that still sit in the same manifest today.

Why Mojang keeps these versions around

The company has not officially explained a reason. What can be verified directly is something else: the old versions were not organised into a separate, deprecated archive — they remain inside the same manifest the launcher uses for the current game. In other words, this is not a forgotten, abandoned corner of a file system; it is part of the very same list that gets checked every time someone opens the official launcher.

Some players simply want to see what the game looked like at the start. Others check how old mechanics used to behave. There is no official explanation of the reason, and we are not going to swap in a guess where a source should be.

How to browse the list of old versions yourself

The official Mojang launcher lets you create a separate installation and point it at any version on the list, not just the latest release — including the old ones:

1. Open the official launcher and go to the installations section.
2. Create a new installation, or edit an existing one.
3. In the version dropdown, switch on the option to show old versions.
4. Pick the entry you want from the list — that is where the old_alpha and old_beta builds live.

The list tends to be long, and it is exactly where those 35 alpha entries and 26 beta entries are hiding. Keep in mind this is only about the official Mojang launcher. Third-party launchers and unofficial builds are a different matter, with different risks, and have nothing to do with this manifest.

What the manifest does not tell you

The version manifest is a technical file, not a guide. It does not explain:

• why these particular versions were kept and others were not;
• what specifically changed between each individual alpha or beta build;
• whether an old version will run equally well on any modern system.

The game’s own page does not say either, so there is nothing to state as fact here beyond what the manifest itself confirms.

What to read next

If you are curious how the modern Java Edition differs from Bedrock, there is a separate guide comparing Java and Bedrock Edition. And once you want to see mechanics that rd-132211 did not have anywhere close to, check the guides on the Nether portal and redstone basics — both are covered in detail elsewhere.

In short

Mojang’s official manifest still holds 35 old alpha versions and 26 old beta versions of Minecraft, including the oldest entry, rd-132211, from 2009, and the first proper release, 1.0, from 2011 — and it is the same file the launcher still uses today.