To play Minecraft with friends, you need to link or sign in with your Microsoft account, have the friends you want to play with on your friend list, and then invite them to your world.
Invite friends to join your world
- Launch Minecraft: Bedrock Edition 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 as desired.
- Return to the Worlds tab by selecting the back arrow in the top-left of the screen.
- Select your world to start the game.
- Pause the game.
- Select the Social button in the top-right of the screen.
- Select Invite to Play.
- Check the boxes to the right of the usernames of the friends you want to add. If you do not see your friend in the list of players, see Add Friends to Your Friend List in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.
- 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 (console, mobile players): You need to link or sign in with your Microsoft account. See Linking Microsoft Accounts.
- Enable multiplayer permissions: Make sure you have permissions to join multiplayer games, especially if you 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: You may encounter problems connecting to multiplayer games if all players aren’t playing the most recent Minecraft version. See our Download & Install section for information about manually updating Minecraft.
- 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.