Switzerland's 1:1 Minecraft copy runs on version 1.12.2 because the Alps top 384 blocks

A fan project called Blocks has rebuilt Switzerland in Minecraft at one block per metre, and to do it the world has to run on Minecraft Java 1.12.2 with a mod called Cubic Chunks. The reason is height: standard Minecraft stops at 384 blocks, while Switzerland climbs to 4,634 metres at the Dufourspitze. The project's site lists the current early access build as dated October 19, 2026.

Blocks is run by Beda Good under the Manifold banner from Altendorf in the canton of Schwyz. The site states clearly that it is not an official Minecraft product and has no connection to Mojang or Microsoft.

A country more than 12 times too tall for the game

The numbers explain the workaround. Swiss terrain spans from 193 metres at Lago Maggiore to the 4,634 metre Dufourspitze, so at full scale the highest summit is more than 12 times the height limit of normal Minecraft. Cubic Chunks removes that ceiling, and according to the site it runs stably on 1.12.2, an older release of the Java edition.

That choice has consequences. The world only works on Java Edition through the Prism Launcher on Windows, macOS or Linux. Bedrock, consoles and phones are out. The full download is 24 GB, needs about 60 GB of disk space, and the site asks for 16 GB of RAM with 8 GB given to the game.

Built by a program from open data

Nobody placed these blocks by hand. The world is generated by software from open data, mainly from swisstopo, the federal mapping office, covering terrain, water, forests, buildings and aerial imagery. Glacier data comes from the GLAMOS inventories run with ETH Zürich, with other layers from federal environment agencies, cantonal surveys, the City of Zürich and Copernicus elevation data beyond the border.

The site is frank about the limits. Buildings are simplified, some features are wrong or missing, and there are gaps at the border and under Lago Maggiore. Arriving somewhere new for the first time means waiting a few minutes, because the world is built as you play.

Sold only to people who live in Switzerland

The full world costs 15 Swiss francs, with an optional 48 franc tier and a pay-what-you-want option. A Jungfrau-Aletsch sample of 1.1 GB is free. The full version, however, is sold only to people living in Switzerland, which the site attributes to unspecified legal reasons, and there are no refunds.

Blocks is not the only attempt at a Swiss replica. The volunteer group Alps BTE is building Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein at 1:1 by hand as part of BuildTheEarth. Blocks takes the opposite route, trading hand-built detail for a whole country generated at once, and says it will keep improving the world during early access.