Some Minecraft Players in Danger of Losing Their Worlds

gamerant.com:

Players using the PC Xbox App to play Minecraft may be in danger of losing their worlds without following specific guidelines. In preparation for the full release of Minecraft update 1.21, Mojang has adjusted a handful of things and added to the Marketplace in the latest minor patch, but this one may unfortunately delete worlds.

Mojang continues to update Minecraft, with the latest patch increasing the health of Wolves, and preventing some softlocks from happening. The Wolf changes are in preparation for Minecraft 1.21, which offers Wolf armor through the new Armadillo mob. The 1.21 update will also include Trial Chambers, the Wind Charge, and more. With fans anticipating 1.21 shortly, Mojang has dropped 1.20.70/71 for the many versions of the client. Like some past patches, this one may cause some issues, notably the deletion of a PC player's worlds if they don't follow some instructions.

Mojang has confirmed that Minecraft players using the Xbox App may be at risk of losing their worlds if the game is updated through the app. The Xbox App opens the Minecraft launcher which has been adjusted to include a warning that states that gamers should backup their local worlds and use the Gaming Services Repair Tool offered in the Xbox App. Players can access this tool by opening their profile drop menu and selecting the support option. Assuming the game hasn't already been updated, this should prevent any potential issues, and the support menu includes another warning for fans. The support tool will seemingly fix the backend issue causing worlds to be deleted when launched from the Xbox App, potentially avoiding the loss of countless hours of Survival or Creative gameplay.

According to Mojang, players who don't update to the latest version may not be able to play multiplayer or access Minecraft Realms or featured servers. The developer also confirmed that it's investigating the error and has blocked the patch from Windows to prevent further damage. Mojang has also recommended