Horizon
Singleplayer
Vanilla saves, generation, villagers, raids, redstone, HUD, recipe book. Worlds 1.8–26.2 upgrade like vanilla.
Horizon
Minecraft on Rust
Updates!launcher v0.2.44 · latest
Download Horizon —Minecraft on Rust.
Horizon (Minecraft Rust Edition) is a Minecraft client in Rust. Download the Windows setup, install the launcher, and play: same worlds and rules, noticeably higher FPS.
Download Horizon 0.2.44 · Windows setup · Minecraft Rust Edition
Horizon videos
Seven clips about Minecraft Java Edition on the Horizon Rust client: a 4K flythrough, Nether, shaders, a dangerous TNT physics test, the author’s own talk, a popular “what is it” breakdown, and a short overview. Below: live native-renderer shots — no JVM.
4K Minecraft flythrough on Horizon
A fast cinematic pass over Java Edition biomes — smooth camera flight in a world driven by Horizon’s native Rust client.
Horizon Nether: Crimson Forest and lava
Nether biome video from the Horizon client — crimson nylium, giant fungi, lava lake. Hell chunks drawn by the native Minecraft Java 26.3 renderer, not a JVM.
Minecraft shaders: light and atmosphere
Short Complementary shader cinematic: volumetric light, soft shadows, distant terrain. Shows the film look players want next to a fast Horizon client.
Danger clip: TNT shreds a house
Destruction-mod physics: Real TNT turns a build into debris. Watch it inside the editor card — muted, every block visible.
“I rewrote Minecraft in Rust”
Horizon breakdown: live gameplay on the native client and why Java Edition was rewritten in Rust from scratch.
What Minecraft Rust Edition actually is
A popular breakdown: how Horizon differs from vanilla, why people call it “Rust Edition”, and what to expect from an unofficial client.
Horizon in half a minute
A tight intro: Java on Rust, open launcher, what the client can do. For anyone who wants the idea in one card.
YouTube clips about Horizon · DNA Mobile Gaming · Alta Media · blast D2eEEhUHuyM · public cinematics · Horizon client
What Horizon is (Minecraft Rust Edition)
Horizon is not a Fabric/Forge mod — it is a Minecraft client written in Rust. People search it as “Minecraft Rust Edition” and “download Horizon”. Same worlds, redstone and mobs; higher FPS; any game version on disk.
What works today
Multiplayer
Invite codes, Open to LAN, online-mode servers. Realms not yet.
Graphics
Presets, distant terrain to 1024 chunks, controller, zoom, minimap. Vanilla-look breakers start off.
Packs & mods
Resource and data packs. Horizon mods (.hmod and Rust). Fabric/Forge/NeoForge/Quilt JARs do not load.
Server
Servers tab in the launcher, or horizon-server on a VPS — no JVM.
Harnesses
281 differential tests against vanilla: same inputs → same outputs.
Why Rust
Same Java 26.3 ruleset, native binary: faster start, less RAM, Vulkan / DirectX 12 / Metal. Project demos ~50 FPS vanilla no-mods → ~150 on Horizon. Hardware varies.
How to install
Download Horizon — standard install
Current · 0.2.44
Download Horizon launcher 0.2.44 for Windows: setup → Prepare → Play. Minecraft on Rust (Rust Edition), any game version on disk.
Version history
21 releases · only the current setup is downloadable
v0.2.442026-11-05Current
New
- Launcher: the Wardrobe's player in 3D, turned by drag, zoomed by the wheel (#10153)
- Cosmetics: the emote format (keyframed bones, root, props) (#10091)
- Launcher Shop: prices, sets and the Supporter badge from the catalogue; the web checkout (#10137)
- Launcher: a plain Shop tab beside the Wardrobe (#10138)
v0.2.432026-11-05
New
- feat(launcher): say in plain words whether a modpack will work (#9638, fixes #9629)
- Build native mods on Windows ARM64 (#9479, fixes #9407)
- Cosmetics: Horizon players' mark by their names; the founder badge after the name (#9440)
- Mod browser: registry data packs into a world, categories and tags (#9889)
horizon-launcher-setup.exe · 59 MBUnavailable
v0.2.422026-11-05
New
- Launcher: "A new version is available" with Update; copies that cannot update themselves say so (#9311, fixes #9287)
- Wardrobe: "Claim for free" where Paddle doesn't sell (#9419, fixes #9416)
- Launcher: choose game architecture independently on Windows ARM (#9480, fixes #9408)
horizon-launcher-setup.exe · 58 MBUnavailable
v0.2.412026-11-04
New
- Launcher: the setup wears the launcher's look (#9173, fixes #9167)
- Launcher: the shop lives on the website; the Wardrobe keeps owned items and purchases (#9286)
- launcher: install and launch Forge and NeoForge instances (#7740)
- launcher: import a modded .mrpack as a Java instance (#7987)
horizon-launcher-setup.exe · 57 MBUnavailable
v0.2.402026-11-04
New
- Launcher: the Shop on the glass look, the new founder set, cosmetics on by default (#8620)
- Native mods: a mod's own data folders, read on each data load (AddServerReloadListenersEvent) (#8438, fixes #8400)
- Launcher Shop: founder claim through Paddle's free checkout; purchase history (#9235, fixes #9234)
horizon-launcher-setup.exe · 57 MBUnavailable
v0.2.392026-11-04
New
- Splitscreen: use the launcher's other Microsoft accounts (#7769, fixes #7760)
Fixed
- Add Беларуская (be_by) game translation (#8425)
- Add Cymraeg (cy_gb) game translation (#8450)
horizon-launcher-setup.exe · 56 MBUnavailable
v0.2.382026-11-04
New
- A new look everywhere.** Home now has tabs for your instance (Overview, Worlds, Multiplayer, Packs, Screenshots
- Make it yours.** Pick an accent colour from the swatches or type any colour; the glass and the sky take it on.
- Settings' Account card** shows who you're signed in as, in one place.
- A light look**, next to the dark one, in Settings › Appearance.
horizon-launcher-setup.exe · 51 MBUnavailable
v0.2.372026-11-02
Fixed
- Native mod builds: no space in the Windows build folder (#6818)
- Recipes: the loot data and the server's sync share one read of the recipe folder (#6745)
- Native builds: a dev profile for mod developers (#6760)
- MCP: serve the stateless 2026-07-28 revision from one implementation (#6587, fixes #5673)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.362026-11-02
New
- Native mods: export a headless engine for dedicated servers (#6462)
Fixed
- Play with friends: the host attaches from any port when its direct port times out (#6363, fixes #6342)
- Launcher: Fix the version picker overflow and the low contrast text/buttons on several tabs (#6389)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.352026-11-01
New
- feat(mods): a content block's random_ticks property (#6167, fixes #6138)
- Native mods: blocks and items declared in code, DeferredRegister (#6359)
Fixed
- Windows: benchmark reports and telemetry name the CPU by its brand (#6054, fixes #6032)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.342026-11-01
New
- Launcher: a Maximum memory row on Home (no limit by default) (#5801, fixes #5798)
Fixed
- mcp: answer initialize with a supported protocol version (part of #5673) (#5877)
- Launcher: list native builds on the Versions page, with Remove (finished from #5595) (#5783)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.332026-11-01
New
- Launcher: account status, profile heads, refresh, and targeted sign-in (#4250)
- feat(mods): mod menu types with their own slot count and data slots (#5713)
- Shader API: [[textures]], PNGs every stage of a pack reads (#5681, fixes #5680)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.322026-11-01
New
- Native mods: own crates, Horizon's lock as their allow list, data files, named hooks, post-build steps (#3964)
- Live count: exact player numbers and history in the launcher
- i18n(launcher): add Brazilian Portuguese (pt-BR) translation (#4834)
- Official SMP player count in the launcher, and its history on the telemetry server (#5235)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.312026-10-31
New
- feat(mods): block items patch their template item's data components (#4921)
- feat(mods): content items declare a crafting remainder (#4925)
- feat(mods): content mods declare their own mob effects (#4840)
- macOS on Intel: x86_64 game and launcher builds, picked per processor (#1171, fixes #1161)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.302026-10-31
New
- Launcher: mod icons and a revalidating image cache (redesign R8a) (#4520)
- Launcher: instance icons, pictures and loader marks (redesign R8b) (#4552)
- Launcher: Sign in with Microsoft and loader logos (redesign R8c) (#4563)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.292026-10-30
New
- Launcher: the night frame, a sidebar plate and a top bar of tabs (redesign R3, draft) (#4032)
- Launcher: Home's hero in the night look (R4) (#4382)
- Launcher: Play's steps while it gets ready (R4b) (#4391)
- Launcher: the sign-in sheet in the night look (R5) (#4392)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.282026-10-30
New
- Launcher: night tokens and Bricolage Grotesque (redesign R1, draft) (#3635)
- Launcher: the animated night sky behind every page (redesign R2, draft) (#3637)
Fixed
- port-pack: upgrade-datapack, a 26.2 data pack's registries in 26.3's formats (#3369)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.272026-10-29
New
- Launcher: a server's Join starts a Java instance into it (#3725)
- Launcher Multiplayer: Horizon Official, the official survival server, on top of the list once (#3759)
Fixed
- port-pack: keep pack-index file names and jar entries inside the output (#2823)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.262026-10-29
New
- Launcher: copy CurseForge app and Modrinth App instances into Java instances (#3679)
- Launcher: Java instances get a window size and join a server on launch (#3688)
- Launcher: a command after the game exits, and the instance's variables (#3713)
- Launcher: turn single mods on and off in Java instances (#3718)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.252026-10-29
New
- Launcher: installing a native mod turns native mods on (#3596)
- Launcher: Play starts a Java instance's Minecraft (#3598)
- Launcher: Modrinth mods and resource packs for Java instances (#3603)
- Launcher: copy Prism, MultiMC and official launcher instances into Java instances (#3612)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
v0.2.242026-10-29
Fixed
- adding german translation to the launcher (+ tidied up my formatting :P) (#3440)
- Launcher: tell a prepared version without the language list by pack.mcmeta (#3105)
- Launcher: Join and other quick starts wait for the version's setup (#3451)
- Launcher: delete old versions after an update, and show what they take on disk (#2947)
Downloads for older versions are not available yet.
Short answers
Where do I download Horizon Minecraft on Rust?
Get the Horizon launcher (Minecraft Rust Edition) from the Download page or the Standard install panel on the home page — Windows setup.exe.
Do I need a paid Minecraft licence?
No hard licence gate. Horizon works with any Minecraft version you already have on this PC — it does not insist on a purchased copy check.
Is Horizon official?
No. It is unofficial. It is not approved by or associated with Mojang or Microsoft.
Is Horizon the same as Minecraft Rust Edition?
Players use that name because Horizon rewrites Java Edition in the Rust language. It is not a Mojang edition.