Step two: At least one player needs to subscribe to Minecraft Realms So sadly, if your kid’s friend Tyler is rocking the Java edition on his Mac and your kid only has the Bedrock edition on his Nintendo Switch, it’s time to make a new best friend. While any user of the Java edition can join a game with any other Java player, and any Bedrock player can play with any other Bedrock no matter what console they’re on, Javas and Bedrocks cannot play together (without a complicated workaround). If you’re playing on macOS, you’re almost certainly playing the Java edition.
If you’re playing Minecraft on a console, a phone or tablet, or playing it on a PC with Windows 10, you’re playing Bedrock. The first step to your kid and their friends forming an online Minecraft clique is determining which version of the game everyone is running. While there are technically 14 different versions of Minecraft, almost everyone is playing either Minecraft: Java Edition or Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.
Step one: Determine which version of Minecraft everyone is using Follow these directions and your kid and his pals will be playing online together in seconds… ok, minutes…. So I put together this little step-by-step guide to setting up a shared, exclusive Minecraft world as easily as possible, with no strangers or any unwanted players to deal with. Unlike a real playground, however, multiplayer Minecraft can be a bit of a hassle to run.