How to play multiplayer on Minecraft

You’ve purchased Minecraft, Mojang’s popular sandbox title, and are having a lot of fun during your single player game. However, you’ve heard that everything gets a lot more fun with other people. You have, therefore, decided that you want to try the multiplayer mode, but you have not well understood how to access it from the platform in your possession. After some research online, you finally came here. That’s the way it is, isn’t it? Well, I’d say you’ve come to the right place, at the right time!

In this guide, in fact, I will explain step by step how to play multiplayer on Minecraft. In case you were wondering, I will analyze all the platforms of the case, from the PC to the consoles, passing through the mobile devices. In short, at the end of the tutorial you will be able to access the multiplayer features of the Mojang title directly from your favorite platform. I almost forgot: there will also be a way to describe the main modes available online.

Courage: why are you still standing there motionless in front of the screen? Are you going to learn how to play Minecraft in multiplayer? In my opinion, yes and you don’t have to worry: in reality, the developers have made the procedure very simple, no matter what platform you have available. Come on then, all you have to do is take some time for yourself and follow the quick instructions below. I can assure you that you are close to achieving your goal. That said, there is nothing left for me to do, except wish you good reading and have fun!

Index

• Preliminary information
• How to play multiplayer on Minecraft
  • How to play multiplayer on Minecraft for PC
  • How to play multiplayer on Minecraft PS4
  • How to play multiplayer on Minecraft PE

Preliminary information

Before going into the details of the procedure on how to play multiplayer on Minecraft, I think it is interesting to understand what are the various versions of the Mojang title and the modes that can be played online.

First of all, the first important aspect is that in order to access Minecraft multiplayer you need to have the full version of the game. If you don’t have the latter available, I suggest you take a look at my guide on how to buy Minecraft.

In this regard, you should know that there are multiple versions of the Mojang title. On PC it is possible to buy two: the Java Edition (appreciated above all for the support to mods via .jar files) and the Bedrock Edition (through which you can access advanced features such as the ability to activate Ray Tracing, which improves graphics harnessing the power of NVIDIA RTX video cards ).

The Java Edition can be purchased through the official Minecraft website, while the second can be installed on Windows 10 through the Microsoft Store. The differences between the two versions, in addition to those I mentioned above, also concern the interface, which in the Bedrock Edition has been made very similar to that for consoles and mobile devices. In fact, the developers wanted to create a sort of “single version” for Windows 10, Android, iOS / iPadOS, Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Having said this, you must know that the functionality linked to the servers is accessible, in a stable way, only from a PC, more precisely through the Java Edition. In fact, as written by the developers themselves on the official Minecraft website (in English), the servers dedicated to the Bedrock version are still in an early stage of development and therefore may not work as it should or may not be available at this time.

In reality, fans have managed to find methods to “get around” the problem, but these are procedures that could also lead to the ban and I advise you not to follow them. Therefore, I invite you to use the servers on consoles and mobile devices only when the developers leave the native functionality active (which I will explain how to use later in the guide).

In any case, the main types of Minecraft servers are the following.

• PvP (Player vs Player)– are all servers where users play against each other. Various “genres” can be included in this category, among those listed below.
• PvE (Player vs Environment)– are all servers where users play against the surrounding environment, therefore monsters, animals and other enemies that can be encountered along the game path. Various “genres” can be included in this category, among those listed below.
• Whitelist and No Whitelist– Whitelist servers are those that allow access only to users on their white lists. The No Whitelist servers, on the other hand, are open to everyone. These categories may include various “genres” among those listed below.
• Vanilla– are the servers where you play a “smooth” version of Minecraft, with no changes from the original game released by Mojang.
• RPG– as easily understood, these are servers in which the game mechanics are similar to those of role-playing games.
• Survival– in these servers the goal of the game becomes … to survive! Threats can come from monsters in the game or from other users connected online, so the first thing to do is build yourself a nice shelter.
• Hunger Games– is a game mode inspired by the series of books and films of the same name. In these servers you have to compete against other players, acquire skills, upgrade your items and much more.
• McMMO– another type of server based on RPG mechanics (in this case online multiplayer RPGs). The aim of the game then becomes to tackle quests, acquire skills and explore new places.
• MiniGames– another type of server with a fairly eloquent name, in which players have to compete with each other by facing various mini-games. Over the years, dedicated BedWars servers have become particularly popular.

For the rest, Minecraft clearly allows you to play with more people even by inviting one or more friends. It’s not exactly the multiplayer that PC gamers intend, but it can still get you to have good gaming sessions with friends even on consoles (in case the server-related functionality is not active).

How to play multiplayer on Minecraft

After explaining to you what are the differences between the various versions of Minecraft and their online features, I would say that you are ready to play the Mojang title in multiplayer. Below you will find all the relevant information.

How to play multiplayer on Minecraft for PC

As mentioned above, the version that offers more possibilities in terms of multiplayer is definitely the PC one. Of course, I will look at the Java Edition of Minecraft.

To proceed, once the game has started, press the Multiplayer button and click the Add a Server button. Then, type in the name and address of the server and click on Done, in order to apply the changes. Perfect, now you just have to click on the Play icon, present next to the server name you entered, to start playing. The affected server will be added to the main menu, so you can quickly access it.

After entering the community-created “room”, you may be required to register. It is not easy to give you precise indications, as each server has its own way to identify the players and some do not require any registration, but usually all you have to do is use the command/register [password you want to use] [password you want use] in the game chat and press Enter. I remind you that, to open the chat, you have to use the T button on the keyboard.

The next time you access the server, you may be asked to log in with the data you used during registration. In that case, you just need to open the chat with the T button on the keyboard, type the command/login [password you have chosen previously] and press Enter. Either way, server creators typically “take the user’s hand”, so you shouldn’t have any problems at this stage.

If you want, you can also “log in” to a Minecraft server without adding it to the game’s main menu. How? Simple, by selecting Direct Access from the Multiplayer menu (instead of Add Server) and typing the server address in the screen that appears.

If you need practical examples and advice on which rooms to join, I invite you to check out my tutorial on the best Minecraft servers.

How to play multiplayer on Minecraft PS4

Minecraft for PlayStation 4 allows users to play in company, but, as mentioned above, the ability to use servers may not be active. For this reason, I will prioritize the procedure for inviting a friend to your world. It’s not quite the same, but we can still identify it as multiplayer.

Well, in order to access the online features of this version of Minecraft, you need to have a PlayStation Network account and an active PlayStation Plus subscription. Put simply, you need to have a console enabled to play online. For all the relevant information, I recommend that you follow my tutorials on how to access PlayStation Network and how to get PlayStation Plus for free (via initial free trial).

Once the console is configured correctly, just start any game of Minecraft and press the Options button on the pad, in order to access the game settings. After that, you just have to use the Invite to play button on the right, choose the friend to invite and wait for them to accept.

If there are any issues related to the invitation, you may not have enabled multiplayer in that specific game or you may not have provided the guest with at least Subscriber level permissions. In case you don’t know, the latter allow the friend to break blocks and attack creatures.

To change these options, return to the Minecraft home screen and follow the path Play> Worlds. Next, click on the pencil icon next to the game name and change these settings.

As for the servers, you should just click on Play, go to the Server tab, select Add server, type in the address and name of the server and click on Play. However, as I have already said several times, the developers are still working on this possibility and therefore you may not be able to use it. For more information, I invite you to consult my guide on how to play online in Minecraft for PS4.

In any case, this procedure is obviously also valid for the other consoles. For example, if you’re wondering how to play multiplayer on Minecraft for Xbox One, you need to know that you need a Microsoft account and an Xbox Live Gold membership there, but otherwise, it doesn’t change much. Same goes for the Switch, but in that case I suggest you take a look at my tutorial on how the Nintendo console works.

How to play multiplayer on Minecraft PE

As I have already explained to you in the introductory chapter, Mojang has created a “unique” version of Minecraft, the Bedrock Edition, for Windows 10, consoles and mobile devices.

This means that the procedure for playing multiplayer in the mobile version of Minecraft is almost identical to the one I explained to you in the chapter dedicated to PlayStation 4 (obviously no subscription is needed here).

There are some differences, however: in this case you need to log in with a Microsoft account to access the game. For the rest, to enter the servers, just go to Play> Server> Add server, type the address and name of the server and press Play.

When I write, I was able to use this feature without much trouble, but clearly, it is a possibility in development, may not be available when you follow this tutorial. In any case, if the feature is on, you shouldn’t have too much trouble accessing the servers, even from the Bedrock Edition.

Since you are a fan of the Mojang title, I would recommend that you take a look at the page of my site dedicated to Minecraft, where you can find countless tutorials that could be for you. In particular, if you are interested in the version for mobile devices, I invite you to consult my tutorial on how to download Minecraft Earth: it is a separate game, always based on the universe created by Markus “Notch” Persson, in which it is exploited a lot of augmented reality and above all it is played in a constantly “multiplayer” world. Don’t worry: you can install it for free.