On macOS 10.15.7 (Catalina) and version 1.17.*, Minecraft will no longer go to the background.
On version 1.16.5, if I wanted to check the browser, for example, I can go Cmd-Tab and get to the Mac's taskbar, then I can tab to Safari and use the browser. When I reactivate Minecraft from the dock, the game has gone to pause and I can go back as normally, after hitting Esc.
This does not work in 1.17, I can not find a way to get to other processes without terminating Minecraft.
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We're tracking this issue in MC-228486, so this ticket is being resolved and linked as a duplicate.
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