# How to Enable Experimental Gameplay on Your Minecraft Bedrock Server (/docs/minecraft-bedrock/enable-experimental)



import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';

Experimental features let you test upcoming Minecraft content before it's officially released. On Bedrock Dedicated Server, experiments are **per-world settings stored in level.dat** — there's no server.properties toggle for them.

> **Warning:** Once experiments are enabled on a world and the world is loaded, they **cannot be turned off** for that world. Enabling experiments also **disables achievements** permanently. Always create a backup first.

Current Experiments (as of 2026) [#current-experiments-as-of-2026]

| Experiment                      | Description                                                 |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Villager Trade Rebalancing**  | Overhauled villager trade tables with location-based trades |
| **Furnace Recipe Book**         | Recipe book UI inside furnace interfaces                    |
| **Upcoming Creator Features**   | Unreleased addon APIs for content creators                  |
| **Beta APIs**                   | Enables `-beta` Script API modules for behavior packs       |
| **Experimental Creator Camera** | Custom camera presets and "over the shoulder" view          |

Available experiments change with each game version.

How to Enable Experiments [#how-to-enable-experiments]

Since BDS doesn't expose experiment toggles, you need to configure a world locally and upload it.

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Create a backup [#create-a-backup]

    In the [XGamingServer Panel](https://panel.xgamingserver.com), go to **Backups** in the sidebar and create a backup of your current server.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Create or edit a world locally [#create-or-edit-a-world-locally]

    Launch **Minecraft Bedrock Edition** on your PC. Click **Play**, then either:

    * **Create New**: Click **Create New World**
    * **Edit Existing**: Download your server world first (see [Download World](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/download-world)), then import it
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Enable experiments [#enable-experiments]

    In the world settings, scroll down to the **Experiments** section. Toggle on the experiments you want.

    {/* Screenshot needed: Bedrock world settings showing Experiments toggles */}

    Accept the warning prompt that appears.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Match your server settings [#match-your-server-settings]

    While in world settings, also set:

    * **Game Mode** to match your server's `gamemode`
    * **Difficulty** to match your server's `difficulty`
    * Any other settings you want to preserve
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Export the world [#export-the-world]

    Still in world settings, scroll down to **Game** section and tap **Export World**. Save the `.mcworld` file.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Upload to your server [#upload-to-your-server]

    Follow the [Upload World guide](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/import-save) to upload the exported world to your server.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Start the server [#start-the-server]

    Start from **Console**. The experimental features are now active.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Verifying Experiments Are Active [#verifying-experiments-are-active]

After joining the server, you can verify experiments are working by:

* Checking for experimental content in-game (e.g., rebalanced villager trades)
* Looking for the **experimental tag** next to the world name in the server list
* Checking the console output at startup for experiment-related messages

Why Not Just Edit level.dat? [#why-not-just-edit-leveldat]

The `level.dat` file uses Bedrock's little-endian NBT format (different from Java's big-endian). While technically possible to edit with tools like [NBT Studio](https://github.com/tryashtar/nbt-studio), it's error-prone. The local world method is more reliable and lets you preview the settings before uploading.

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [Upload an Existing World](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/import-save)
* [Download Your World](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/download-world)
* [Change Server Version](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/change-server-version)