Xenon
by Txni
Xenon is a Forge and NeoForge fork of Embeddium, the Forge port of the Sodium rendering mod, with extra options and new maintainers.
What it does
Xenon is built for players on Minecraft 1.20.1 who want a replacement for Embeddium that stays closer to upstream Sodium. It carries over the extra improvements from the Embeddium Extras mod and the vertical video settings that the extra options depend on. Since it is a fork, Xenon keeps the behavior Embeddium offers, and the authors intend to stay compatible with upstream and with Embeddium and Forge Sodium addons where possible.
Xenon is client-side only, so a server does not need it and players can join without installing it. Its only game version is 1.20.1, and the files are published for Forge and NeoForge. The code is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only, which is the license upstream Sodium uses. OptiFine is not supported, because Xenon takes its place. Shader support is left to Oculus for now, and Xenon is not meant to run alongside Embeddium, Rubidium, Sodium Extras or TexTrue's Embeddium Options.
Key features
Embeddium-based rendering
Xenon builds on the Embeddium codebase, so the rendering pipeline and performance work are inherited from the fork.
Embeddium Extras improvements
The fixes and options from the Embeddium Extras mod are included in Xenon's build by default.
Vertical video settings
The vertical video options from the Reese mod are bundled and power the extra options in the settings screen.
Upstream compatibility goal
The fork aims to remain compatible with upstream Sodium and with Embeddium and Forge Sodium addons.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Incompatible 3
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players on Minecraft 1.20.1 with Forge or NeoForge who want the Embeddium-style rendering and its extra options, and who do not use OptiFine.
How it compares
Chunk Animator Embeddium Compat is a client-side Forge mod for 1.16.5 – 1.20.1, released under the MIT License and open source. Lazurite is a client-side Forge mod for 1.20.1 under the Apache License 2.0. Embeddium is client-side only, open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only, and covers Fabric, Forge and NeoForge across 1.16.5 – 1.21.4, so it reaches more loaders and versions than Xenon.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xenon | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 | Client-side only | 2024-09-24 |
| Chunk Animator Embeddium Compat | Forge | 1.16.5 – 1.20.1 | Client-side only | 2026-10-02 |
| Lazurite | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client-side only | 2024-03-26 |
| Embeddium | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.16.5 – 1.21.4 | Client-side only | 2025-01-24 |
Questions
Does Xenon need to be installed on the server?
Which loaders does Xenon support?
Can Xenon be used together with Oculus for shaders?
In the catalog
Xenon is one of 3,545 Optimization mods on ModsFinder, and one of 1,441 Optimization mods for Forge. 34,764 mods support Minecraft 1.20.1.
More from Txni
Similar mods
What the author says
Xenon is a fork of Embeddium (Forge port of the Sodium performance mod) with improvements, extra options, and new maintainers. Currently, it includes all the extra improvements from my Embeddium Extras mod, as well as Reese's vertical video settings (which is required for the extra options).
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/xenon-forge
- Owner
- Txni
- Published
- 2024-02-09
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2024-09-24
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15