Minecraft is a lonely game by design. You wake up on a beach, punch a tree, and realize you’re the only sentient being in a world of infinite blocks. It’s poetic, sure, but it gets old fast. Eventually, you’ll want to show off that unnecessarily large castle or get help fighting the Ender Dragon. That’s when you need to figure out how to play Minecraft in multiplayer, which is honestly more confusing than it has any right to be in 2026.
Back in the day, you basically needed a degree in networking just to open a port. Now? It’s better, but the "how" depends entirely on what device you’re holding. If you’re on a phone, you’re playing Bedrock. If you’re on a PC, you might be playing Java. These two versions are like oil and water—they don't usually mix without some serious technical wizardry.
The Bedrock vs. Java Divide
Let's get the big hurdle out of the way first. You cannot just invite your friend on an iPhone to your Java Edition world on your MacBook. It won't work. Bedrock Edition (which covers consoles, mobile, and the "Minecraft for Windows" version) uses a completely different codebase than the original Java Edition.
If you want to play with friends across different platforms, everyone needs to be on Bedrock. This is what Microsoft calls "Cross-Play." It’s seamless. You sign into a Microsoft account, add your friend's Gamertag, and you're in. Java players, on the other hand, are mostly stuck in their own elite club, though it's a club with much better mods.
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LAN Play: The Couch Co-op Vibe
The easiest way to get moving is a Local Area Network (LAN) connection. This is perfect if you’re sitting in the same living room or sharing the same Wi-Fi. In Java Edition, you just pause the game, hit Open to LAN, and choose your settings. Your friend should see your world pop up in their Multiplayer tab under "Local Games."
But there is a catch. Sometimes it just doesn't show up.
Firewalls are the usual suspects here. If your Windows Defender thinks Minecraft is a threat, your friend will never see that invite. You might have to manually enter an IP address, which feels very 2005, but it works. For Bedrock users, LAN is even simpler—as long as "Visible to LAN Players" is toggled on in your world settings, it should just appear. No mess, no fuss.
Minecraft Realms: The Lazy (But Expensive) Way
If you have a bit of extra cash and zero patience for server IP addresses, Realms is the answer. This is Mojang’s official subscription service. You pay a monthly fee, and they host the server for you. It stays online 24/7, meaning your friends can hop in and build even when you're asleep.
Realms is great because it handles the security and the backups. If someone accidentally burns down your storage room with a misplaced lava bucket, you can just roll the world back to a previous save. However, the 10-player limit is a hard cap. If you have a massive Discord community, a Realm is going to feel very cramped, very quickly.
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The World of Third-Party Servers
Now we're getting into the real meat of how to play Minecraft in multiplayer. Public servers are where the chaos happens. Think Hypixel or 2b2t. These aren't just survival worlds; they're entire mini-game ecosystems with thousands of players.
To join a server:
- Grab the Server Address (looks like
mc.hypixel.net). - Go to the Multiplayer menu.
- Click Add Server.
- Paste the address and hit join.
Java Edition has the best public servers by a mile. The community has spent over a decade building custom plugins that turn Minecraft into an MMO, a racing game, or a competitive battle royale. Bedrock has "Featured Servers," but they feel a bit more corporate and polished.
Setting Up Your Own Dedicated Server
Maybe you don't want to pay for a Realm, but you still want a permanent world for your friends. You can host a server on your own PC, but be warned: it eats RAM. You’ll need to download the server.jar file from Mojang’s site, agree to the EULA (by changing a text file from false to true), and keep your computer running 24/7.
The real nightmare is Port Forwarding.
You have to log into your router—yes, that dusty box in the corner—and tell it to send all traffic from port 25565 to your computer. It’s a rite of passage for every PC gamer. If you get it wrong, nobody can connect. If you get it right, you're the hero of the friend group.
Using Free Hosting Services
If you don't want to mess with your router, services like Aternos or Minehut offer free hosting. They’re "free" because they show you ads and the performance can be... questionable. During peak hours, you might experience "lag," which is basically the game stuttering because the server's CPU is crying. It's fine for two or three people, but don't expect to run a 50-person civilization experiment on a free tier.
Essential Safety Tips for Multiplayer
The internet is a weird place. When you open your world to others, you're inviting the internet into your "home."
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- Whitelisting: If you run your own server, turn on the whitelist. This makes it so only specific usernames can join. Without this, "griefers" use bots to find open servers and blow everything up just for the fun of it.
- Operator Status: Don't give everyone "OP" (Admin) powers. One disgruntled friend with
/fillcommands can delete your entire base in three seconds. - Chat Filters: On public servers, the chat can get toxic fast. Most big servers have filters, but if you're playing on a smaller, unmoderated server, keep your guard up.
GeyserMC: The Bridge Between Worlds
Earlier I said Java and Bedrock don't mix. I lied, slightly. There’s a community-made tool called GeyserMC. It’s a "translator" that sits on a Java server and allows Bedrock players to join. It’s incredible. It translates the packets in real-time. If you’re tech-savvy and want to host a server where your PC friends and Xbox friends can finally coexist, Geyser is the only way to do it. It isn't perfect—sometimes skins look weird or certain blocks glitch—but it’s the closest thing we have to a unified Minecraft experience.
The Reality of Lag
No matter how you play, lag is the final boss of multiplayer. It comes in two flavors: FPS lag (your computer is struggling) and Network lag (the server is struggling). If you see a creeper frozen in mid-air, that's network lag. If your screen is a slideshow, that's your PC.
To fix network lag, try to host the server in a region close to your players. If you live in London and your server is in Los Angeles, there’s a physical limit to how fast that data can travel. Light is fast, but it’s not instantaneous.
Taking the Next Steps
Stop playing alone. The first thing you should do is decide which version of the game you actually want to spend time on. If you have the "Vanilla" experience in mind with just a couple of friends, check if you’re both on Bedrock and use the built-in "Invite to Game" feature. It’s the path of least resistance.
If you’re looking for the hardcore, modded, or massive community experience, you need Java Edition. Go to a site like NameMC or Minecraft Server List, find a community that fits your vibe—whether that’s "Anarchy," "Creative Building," or "Skyblock"—and just jump in.
Make sure your Java is updated to the latest version. Double-check your Microsoft account privacy settings, as they often block multiplayer by default for "safety" reasons, which is a common headache for new players. Once those toggles are flipped, the entire infinite map is yours to share.