The Bedrock and Java editions of Minecraft are very similar in some ways and very different in other ways. One of the biggest differences has been the support for subtitles or closed captions, where, for a decade, only the Minecraft Java Edition has sported the feature. However, with the latest update, Mojang finally has good news for Bedrock players.
After spending a few months in the preview builds, Minecraft Bedrock Edition now has official closed caption support.
"Text and visual cues are an excellent way to share information that might otherwise be missed by many people, including deaf and hard-of-hearing players, players who process audio differently, or anyone dealing with plain old broken headphones," explains Mojang. "Now everyone can be more aware of their surroundings in Minecraft, dramatically lowering the chance of creeper sneak attacks"
To enable the new Closed Captions, Bedrock players can find it under Settings > Accessibility > Gameplay. Once enabled, it can be customized further in the same section. The length of how long captions stay visible, where they appear on the screen, and what sounds are shown (like hiding your own sounds or weather effects).
Once enabled, Minecraft will show short descriptions of any sounds that are happening near the player. This can be things like footsteps, enemy sounds, doors activating, and much more. There are also directional cues that show where the sound is originating from, letting players quickly locate the source if needed.
There are some known issues to look out for currently in this version. Mojang says there may be incorrect or inconsistent sounds being displayed, confusing directional indicators in vertical spaces, and too many captions cluttering the HUD. The studio asked players to submit reports on its feedback page to dial the feature in via future updates.