To play Minecraft with friends, you need to link or sign in with your Microsoft account and Add Friends to Your Friend List in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition or have the friends you want to play with on your friend list. Here’s how to invite your friends to your world after you’ve added them.
Invite friends to join your world
- Launch Minecraft and select Play.
- Select the Worlds tab and select the pencil icon to the right of the world you want to play.
- Select Multiplayer from the menu on the left and enable the Multiplayer game toggle. You can also adjust other settings.
- Select Play or Play on Realms.
- Pause the game and select the Social button in the top-right.
- Select Invite to Play and check the boxes next to the friends you want to add.
- Select Send # Invites.
Your friend(s) should receive an invite from you through their platform’s game notification system. You will receive an in-game notification at the top of your screen after they accept the invitation and join your game.
Check your game settings and subscription status
If you encounter any problems inviting a friend to your world, here are some things to check:
- Sign in with your Microsoft account: Link or sign in with your Microsoft account. See Linking Microsoft Accounts.
- Adjust multiplayer permissions for your world: Before you open your world, you may also need to adjust your world’s player access setting under Settings > Multiplayer to friends or friends of friends for other players to join. Players may see a Kelp error message when they try to join if this is not enabled.
- Confirm your friend enabled multiplayer for their account: Make sure your friend has permissions to join multiplayer games, especially if they are playing with a child account. See Managing Multiplayer Game Access for a Child Account in Minecraft.
- Add your friend to your Friends list: If you’re not already Minecraft friends, see Add Friends to Your Friend List in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.
- Update to the newest Minecraft version: All players should update to the most recent version of Minecraft. See our Download & Install section for steps to manually update.
- Subscribe to your platform’s online service (console only): An active Xbox Game Pass Core, Nintendo Switch Online, or PlayStation Plus subscription is required for online play.
Additional multiplayer resources
- Join a Friend's Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Realm
- Troubleshooting Unable to Join Multiplayer Worlds in Minecraft