Minecraft is the top best-selling game of all time, standing the test of time as a beloved sandbox gem over a decade following its iconic initial launch back in 2011. The creative game offers countless possibilities to players, whether they're looking to build, explore, mine, role-play, or do a bit of everything all at once. With Minecraft's sheer size and its ever-growing population of dedicated players, more fans are hopping into multiplayer than ever to enjoy the ins and outs of blocky chaos together.
There are various ways to enjoy multiplayer with friends, whether you subscribe to one of Mojang's own Realms subscriptions or host a private server yourself, as well as both local co-op and online support. While there are different methods of playing with friends, getting multiplayer to function as you'd like it to isn't always so simple. One element of multiplayer play that may particularly confuse fans is the existence of two Minecraft editions, Bedrock and Java, and how this affects local or online co-op functionality.
Fans using the Bedrock edition of Minecraft are usually playing on consoles, mobile devices, or the Windows store PC version of the game. On the other hand, Java edition players will generally be using Linux, Mac, or Windows OS-based devices. These differences as well as the possible variation in developmental updates between Bedrock and Java have left many players wondering about Minecraft cross-play support. If you're curious about how and if it works at all, we've got everything you need to know in our guide here.
Minecraft Cross-Play Explained
The question of Minecraft cross-play is certainly not new to the community, as fans have been searching for a way to team up with friends using opposite editions for years now. Unfortunately, developer Mojang has made it quite clear that while the game does indeed support local and online co-op or multiplayer functionality, it only applies to players using the same edition of Minecraft. This means that if you're hosting a Java server yourself, any friends who are playing on the Bedrock version will not be able to join you, and vice versa.
How to Play Minecraft Cross-Play
While there is sadly no official Minecraft cross-play support between the Bedrock and Java editions of Mojang's sandbox game, you can use a handy third-party tool instead for multiplayer fun with friends using different versions. GeyserMC is a nifty new program that allows Bedrock players to join Java-hosted servers, allowing for true cross-play between both Minecraft editions. You can access and download the tool here to have a go at cross-play shenanigans with pals yourself.
The tool acts as a packet translator of sorts, sitting between the Bedrock client and Java server. It interprets the data it receives from the Bedrock client and translates it into a format suitable for the Java server. You can use Geyser alongside any modern Minecraft version, too, not just the latest release. The Geyser tool opens up the possibility for console, mobile, and PC players to all explore in-game on multiplayer servers together, and you can install it either as a plugin or a standalone program.
