Luanti Blog

Introduction

Luanti 5.18 is here! A few days before Halloween, this release was a spooky one for sure! This time, we are bringing you the ability to load from multiple texture packs at once, translate to English, a Lua API to customize the world lighting, and more

An attacker gained unauthorized access to ContentDB’s servers and data, including emails, hashed passwords, and uploads. All users are advised to take action.

In August, Luanti had a stand at FrOSCon, a free and open-source conference held in Sankt Augustin, Germany.

In the last 8 years, we’ve made a massive effort to find and fix security vulnerabilities and harden our code. Our most recent release fixed multiple serious security vulnerabilities. By this point, we know that the 0.4.x series has multiple critical vulnerabilities. To keep players safe, we will be removing 0.4.x servers from the Luanti server list in 4 weeks (on 2026-10-31).

Previously, we announced that Microsoft via Tracer AI had filed a DMCA notice against Luanti’s Google Play listing, alleging that Luanti infringed upon Minecraft’s copyright. The notice has been rescinded and the app has been reinstated on the Play Store.

Update: Microsoft has withdrawn the notice, restoring the app to the Play Store.

Luanti’s Android app is currently not available on the Google Play Store due to a baseless DMCA notice filed on behalf of Microsoft by Tracer.AI, alleging that Luanti infringes Minecraft’s copyright. The Luanti app does not contain any proprietary code or assets, from Minecraft or otherwise.

Introduction

Luanti 5.17 is here! This time, we have added the start of gamepad support, the ability to export user data on Android, and improved modding capabilities.

On the 15th and 16th of June, the Minestory project brought together several classes and their teachers for an annual conference hosted by Campus Numéria at Futuroscope in Poitiers, France. The conference is a culmination of a year’s work by the participating classes. The aim of Minestory is to allow pupils to learn in a different way through video games, with the help of Luanti. For several years now, Minestory has enabled pupils to become researchers, heritage guides and 3D modellers by reconstructing heritage sites within the open-source Luanti universe.

In April, Luanti attended Radioamatore Tech Expo, a two-day technology fair in Pordenone, Italy. The fair is the largest electronics, radio, and computer fair in Italy. Luanti had a stand in the Linux Arena, a section of the event dedicated to free and open-source software.

Introduction

Luanti 5.16 is here! This release contains many smaller enhancements and bug fixes, including rendering and input improvements.

Luanti had a stand at FOSDEM for the third year in a row, and it was our best year yet! Held in Brussels, Belgium, FOSDEM is the largest free and open-source conference in the world. FOSDEM is an excellent place to spread the word, bring the community together, and build connections with other FOSS projects.

Introduction

Luanti 5.15 is here! This time, we have rendering performance improvements, dynamic shadows on Android, a Windows installer, and many small enhancements.

Introduction

Luanti has joined Open Collective Europe (OCE), a non-profit based in Belgium that provides fiscal hosting to open source projects. OCE hosts many notable projects, including EndeavourOS, F-Droid, and postmarketOS. Joining OCE allows Luanti to operate like a non-profit and unlocks many new opportunities.

You can donate to Luanti’s non-profit collective at https://opencollective.com/luanti.

Introduction

5.14.0 has landed following the return of release candidates! Quality-of-life features and performance improvements are the name of the game this time around.

Introduction

This release is a little smaller than usual due to the previously-mentioned schedule shift, but 5.13.0 still has quite a few new things for developers to play with, as well as plenty of bug fixes.

Introduction

Luanti 5.12.0 is here! Perfectly on schedule, we swear! Anyway, this time Luanti is sporting new input handling and controls, new item and entity visuals, better map performance, and more.

Introduction

This year marked Luanti’s second consecutive appearance at FOSDEM! Held in Brussels, Belgium, FOSDEM is the largest free and open source software conference in Europe. Fresh off our recent rebranding and new release cycle, FOSDEM was a fantastic opportunity to collect feedback and update people on what’s happening in the Luanti world. The rename did make some logistics a bit tricky (flyers and leaflets needed to be redone), but thanks to some cutting-edge technology, we managed to recycle some material!

Introduction

Luanti 5.11.0 is landing right on time following our 3-month release schedule! Many new menu features have arrived alongside font overrides, continued model improvements, rendering fixes, and more.

Introduction

Luanti (formerly Minetest) 5.10.0 has been released just three months after 5.9.0 in accordance with the new release schedule. Just in time to be used in the 2024 Luanti Game Jam, too!

Highlights include a content browser redesign, support for the modern glTF model format, gettext translation support, new visual effects, an API for per-player objects, usability improvements, and more.

“Is this a Minecraft clone? Is it like Minecraft Alpha?” If you’ve been a member of our community for some time, you are probably aware of how often these questions remind us of what people think of when they hear the name “Minetest”: a rip-off of a similar genre-defining game. Truth be told, that was celeron55’s initial plan. But things change, and Minetest evolved. Now, the time has come for Minetest to assume a new identity and prove it has moved beyond its original purpose.

Introduction

Minetest 5.9.0 has been released with performance improvements for rendering and map generation, new graphical effects, and much more.

You can download Minetest from our website. As always, the full changelog can be found here.

Improvements are made to graphics, the Lua API, and the user interface. We present the winners of the 2023 Game Jam along with other cool mods. A new core developer joins the team, and we look forward to FOSDEM 2024!

Introduction

Minetest 5.8.0 has been released with improved onboarding, a new Settings GUI, improved Android controls, and a lot more.

You can download Minetest from our website. Also, check out the full changelog.

The main menu gets more love in preparation for the 5.8.0 release, developers come and go, and new shaders are in the works. CTF celebrates its 10th anniversary, and new API mods make their way to ContentDB.

Work on the 5.8 release continues with some exciting new engine improvements, a classic game makes its way to ContentDB, and the use of Minetest in education was explored.

After the release of Minetest 5.7.0 in April, there were some improvements to the API for craft items. MineClone2 got the “Safe and Sound” update, there were major mod content updates, and Zughy made a promotional poster for Minetest.

Last month, developers worked on the 5.7.0 release. We had lots of mod updates and releases. Also, Repixture got a soundscape rework.

Minetest 5.7.0 has been released with improved graphics, performance improvements, and lots more.

The Minetest 5.7.0 release is dedicated to Jude Melton-Houghton (TurkeyMcMac / jwmhjwmh), a core developer who passed away in February.

You can download Minetest from our website. Also check out the full changelog.

In February, a method for getting clients’ game window information was added and map viewing performance was greatly improved. Repixture added boats, and there is a new artistic server on the serverlist.

In this update, we cover several engine improvements from the last two months, Backrooms Test’s first release, and more.

November was the 2022 Game jam month; there were some great submissions this year! Core devs worked on graphics and gamepad support. In late October, Minetest was used as an urban planning tool to engage students in their community’s planning process.

This month, TurkeyMcMac joined the core dev team, post-processing and bloom were merged, and Android crosshair support was added. Minefall released on ContentDB, BlockExchange got a graphical rework, and more!

While not much happened in August with engine development due to a post-release break, a few mods were released that are worth checking out.

Last month, developers worked on releasing 5.6.0, and x2048 started work on post-processing and god rays for 5.7. MeseCraft has an important update, as well as a few interesting mods. Finally, Minetest was shown off at the exploreandlearn@LMZ edutech conference, with talks and workshops.

Minetest 5.6.0 has been released with dynamic shadows, improvements to mod management, a clearer player registration process, and more!

Last year, we decided on a roadmap of goals to focus on. This release has made good progress on these goals, especially regarding graphics and user interfaces (UIs).

You can download Minetest from our website. Also check out the full changelog.

This month, rubenwardy has been working on a settings redesign, and x2048 has been working on adding post-processing to Minetest. Traitor has received two long-requested features, and Exile was updated with giant rings as well as gameplay features. Additionally, the Minetest Modding Book has a new chapter available on mods/games translation support.

This month, Minetest 5.5.1 was released, we reached less than 90 PRs and 1000 issues, and there’s been big improvements to performance, rendering and stability. We also have a new mapping mod and fully-walkable Airships.

This month, engine development picks up with regular meetings, NodeCore gets a 24/7 livestream, and the Minetest Blog is now official!

This month, there is big news regarding engine-related side projects. Shadows receive an update, and a couple games get major new features. Last but not least, the blog is becoming official!

Minetest 5.5 was released last month, with some significant improvements. Colour Hop has received some major updates. Several mods received updates this month, and they look fun.

A Blog is a great way for a project to share updates and generate excitement for new featues among its community. Thats why we are starting a new blog for minetest! This will be a great way to stay up-to-date with the diverse parts of the community. Blog content will be solicited from community members, for Engine development updates, Mods, Games, Builds, Art, Servers and anything minetest related. Yes, this will include shills for people’s own projects, but they need an excuse such as a major update, great new feature, or event. See Contributing Guidelines