Is Minecraft cross-platform?

By Jesse Lennox Updated April 15, 2025

Minecraft is an endless sandbox of fun to explore one’s creativity. As great as it is to play alone, it is also one of the best co-op games. Building bases, fighting monsters, and crafting strong weapons are all better with one or more friends to share the adventure with. Because Minecraft is available on almost anything with a screen, you would assume you could play with anyone, but the answer isn’t quite that simple.

Playing with friends on a shared server is one of the greatest ways to experience Minecraft, just like it is for Terraria or GTA V. But in today’s gaming landscape, there is a wide variety of platforms on which people play the game, which may lead you to wonder if this is a cross-platform game. Below, we’ll tell you what you need to know about cross-platform play in Minecraft.

While the answer is a little bit more complicated, the quick answer is that Minecraft is cross-platform across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android. For a full explanation, we have to talk about the different versions of Minecraft.

Firstly, only Minecraft: Bedrock Edition supports cross-platform play. This is the only version available on PlayStation and Switch, but you will need to make sure you have the right version on Xbox and PC. If you’re using Minecraft: Java Edition on PC or Xbox, you won’t be able to play with friends on other platforms.

The other requirement is that you will need to make and sign in with a Microsoft account to access cross-platform functionality, even if you’re playing on non-Microsoft hardware. If you don’t have a Microsoft account yet, it’s a fairly painless process to create one using your usual email address or by signing up for a new one.

Lastly, console players are required to have an active online subscription, such as PlayStation Plus or Game Pass, for their respective platforms to access online play in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.