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A guide to playing Minecraft with friends on any platform
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Do you want to play Minecraft online with your friends, but your friends play on a different gaming platform? It's always a bummer when you and your friends enjoy the same game, but you don't have the same gaming system. Luckily, Minecraft is one of the few games that supports cross-platform play (or crossplay), allowing you to play with friends who use a different gaming system. All you need to do is sign in with a Microsoft or Xbox account. This wikiHow article teaches you how to play Minecraft online with friends who play on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, iOS, or Android.
Things You Should Know
- You need a Microsoft or Xbox account to play Minecraft cross-platform, even if you are using a different platform. Sign in with your Microsoft account on the title screen.
- Platforms that support crossplay include; Windows 10 & 11, Chromebook, Xbox One & Series X, Playstation 4 & 5, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS.
- You must have Minecraft Bedrock Edition to play cross-platform. You cannot play cross-platform with the Java Edition, Playstation 4 Edition, or Xbox One Edition.
Steps
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Sign up for a Microsoft account. If you don't already have a Microsoft or Xbox account , you will need to create one—regardless of what platform you are playing on—in order to play Minecraft cross-platform. Use the following steps to sign up for a Microsoft account:
- Go to https://account.microsoft.com/ in a web browser.
- Click Sign In in the middle of the page.
- Click Create One next to "No account?"
- Enter an email address or click Get a new email address to get a new Outlook email .
- Click Next
- Follow the prompts to create an email address and password for your new Microsoft account.
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Download Microsoft Bedrock Edition. Bedrock Edition is the only version of Minecraft that supports crossplay. If you have another Minecraft edition (i.e. Java Edition, Playstation 4 Edition, Xbox One Edition), you will need to download Minecraft Bedrock Edition . [1] X Research source
- You can download Minecraft for PC here or by using the online software store for whichever platform you are using.
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Launch Minecraft. The app icon is different depending on which platform you are playing on. It usually has an icon that resembles a grass Minecraft block. On game consoles, it usually has an icon that resembles Minecraft characters climbing a hill.
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Select Sign In or Sign In with Microsoft Account . It's the grey button on the left-hand side of the title screen.
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Sign in with your Microsoft account. To do so, you will need to sign in with the email address and password associated with your Microsoft account. Once you are logged in with a Microsoft account, you will be ready to play with your friends from other platforms.
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Select Play on the title screen. It's the first large grey button on the Minecraft title screen after you launch the game.
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Select the Friends tab. It's the second tab at the top of the game select screen. This displays your online friends as well as options for adding friends.
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Select Add Friends or Find Cross Platform Friends . If you are using a mobile device or PC, it's the large grey button at the top of the page. If you are on a game console, select Find Cross Platform Friends at the bottom of the menu.
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Enter your friend's gamer tag. For friends that are on the same platform as you, you can enter their gamer tag on that platform. For friends who are playing on a different gaming platform, you will need to enter their Microsoft or Xbox gamer tag.
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Select Add Friend . It's the large green button at the top of the page. If your friend accepts your friend request, they will be added to your list of friends you can invite to a game.
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Select Play on the title screen. It's the first large grey button on the Minecraft title screen after you launch the game.
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Select the Friends tab. It's the second tab at the top of the game select screen. This displays your online friends as well as options for adding friends.
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Select a friend whose game you want to join. You will see a list of friends who are currently playing listed under "Joinable Friends" at the bottom of the screen.
- Alternatively, if any of your friends have a Minecraft Realms subscription, you can select Join Realm at the top and select a friend's Minecraft Realm.
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Select Proceed . When you join a multiplayer game on Minecraft , it warns you that you might be exposed to chats and user-generated content that hasn't been rated. Select Proceed to continue. You will be connected to your friend's game.
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Start a Minecraft game. To do so, select Play from the title screen and select a game to play, create a new world, or join a friend's game .
- You can only invite a friend to another friend's game if they have their game settings set to allow friends of friends to invite friends to the game.
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Open the game menu. To do so, press Esc on PC, press the Start / Options / ☰ / + button on game consoles, or tap the Pause icon at the top of the screen on mobile devices. It has an icon that resembles two vertical lines.
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Ensure multiplayer is turned on. To do so, select Settings from the game menu. Then select Multiplayer . Ensure the toggle switch next to "Multiplayer" is turned on at the top. Additionally, you can use the drop-down menu to select if you want to allow friends only to join, friends of friends to join, or invite only. [2] X Research source
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Select Invite to Game . It's on the right-hand side of the game menu. This displays friends you can invite to the game, both online and offline.
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Select friends you want to invite. You can select more than one friend. As many as eight friends can join a game at a time. Select the friends you want to invite. This will place a checkmark next to their gamer tag.
- Additionally, you can select Add Friend or Find Cros Platform Friends at the bottom of this screen and add more friends .
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Select Send # Invites . It's at the bottom of the screen. This will send an invite to all the friends you selected. If your friends accept the invitation, they will join your game.
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Tips
- If you don't want to pay for a Minecraft Realms subscription, you can host your own Minecraft server on a PC.Thanks
- If you want to create a persistent game world that your friends can join at any time—even when you are not online—you can do so by signing up for a Minecraft Realms subscription.Thanks
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