Minecraft Dungeons is one of the best games to play with friends in online and local co-op, which is one of the many reasons it has made it onto our list of the best kids games for Xbox, but since its inception. launch, Minecraft Dungeons has been criticized for its lack of cross-play support. The inability to play with friends on other platforms went against the platform independent nature of Minecraft, especially since the launch of Minecraft Dungeons on Xbox, Windows, Switch, and PS4. Now, after months of teasers and waiting, Minecraft Dungeons officially has cross-play support on all platforms.
However, cross-play can be a bit messy at times, as each individual platform has its own unique way of doing things and incorporates Minecraft Dungeons cross-play support in different ways. In this Minecraft Dungeons cross play guide, we’re going to go over everything you need to know about enabling and using cross play to play with your friends, no matter where they are.
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This even includes on the go with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Project xCloud), where Minecraft Dungeons continues to be our top pick for the best games for Xbox Cloud Gaming on Android.
Not your average Minecraft
Minecraft dungeons
Minecraft explores the dungeons.
Minecraft Dungeons is the next saga in Minecraft history, and Mojang Studios has brought another out of the park. Awesome co-op combat paired with powerful loot, all at a crazy affordable price? There’s not much you could ask for in an epic dungeon crawl ARPG.
What is cross play for Minecraft Dungeons?
As a general rule, most online games restrict play to other players on the same platform as you. This meant that people playing Minecraft Dungeons on an Xbox One couldn’t play with their friends on a Nintendo Switch, for example. With cross play, these barriers are removed because a game can use a central account to connect all platforms and allow people to play with their friends regardless of the platform. For Minecraft, this is the Microsoft account.
Minecraft Dungeons has just added cross-play support in a free update for all platforms, with version number 1.6.0.0 (later versions will work as well). As long as this update or a later version is installed on your device and you are signed in to a Microsoft account, you will be able to play anywhere Minecraft Dungeons is available.
How can I activate cross play for Minecraft Dungeons?
Most games that support cross play use a common account across all platforms to activate it, as platforms such as Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch do not speak to each other natively. For Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons, you will need a Microsoft account. It’s super easy to set up, gives you a ton of security and privacy controls, and offers native integration into Xbox and Windows 10 for even easier gaming.
If you’re playing through an Xbox console (including Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S or Windows 10, you don’t have to do anything else here. People who play on PS4 or Nintendo Switch will need to go through a few more steps. .
For more information on the kind of security and privacy settings a Microsoft account gives you, especially for parents, check out our comprehensive guide to parents on Xbox and accounts, and consider the Family Settings app. Xbox for additional control from your mobile device.
The steps below introduce Nintendo Switch for cross play with an Xbox Series X, but the steps should be similar for Playstation.
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Open Minecraft dungeons on your Nintendo Switch or PS4.
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You will receive a message “Connect to online cooperation”. Press the corresponding button on the screen to begin.
- You will be asked to “sign in with a Microsoft account”. Go to microsoft.com/link on another device, such as a phone, tablet, or computer.
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Sign in to your Microsoft account or create one for free.
- When you are asked, Enter code provided by Minecraft Dungeons.
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Minecraft Dungeons will verify and sign in to your Microsoft account. Wait on this screen until it is finished.
- You will see a confirmation screen when Minecraft Dungeons successfully connects to your Microsoft account. Hit Continue to go to the main screen.
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Now that your Microsoft account is signed in to Minecraft Dungeons, you should be able to play online games with friends. **Enjoy!***
- An Xbox Live Gold, Nintendo Online, or Playstation Plus subscription is required for online multiplayer, including cross play, on Xbox, Switch, and PS, respectively.
Players will have a handful of settings at their disposal to customize their online experience. If you navigate to the “Set up online play” section in the game settings, you can turn online play on or off, or sign out of your Microsoft account. On PS4, you can also turn off cross-platform play here. Cross-platform play will still be enabled on other platforms, but Microsoft accounts give you a plethora of ways to customize your online and privacy settings.
How can I play with friends in cross-play for Minecraft Dungeons?
Once you’ve connected your Microsoft account to Minecraft Dungeons, you’re ready to start playing with friends from other platforms! Since everything is built on a Microsoft account, playing with friends means knowing their gamertags, or their username with Microsoft and Xbox. You should have chosen a gamertag when you created your Microsoft gaming account (you can change it if you want). You can find your friends using their gamertags, and other players can find you using yours.
To make things even easier, you can find friends, create and join games, and even invite other players (with caveats), all from within Minecraft Dungeons.
If you start a new game, you will see this Friends menu, which allows you to switch between an online and offline game lobby (offline means online co-op will not be enabled or possible) or toggle a private game. (which players can’t randomly join). Add friends by searching for their gamertags or join friends who are already in a lobby.
Once you’ve created a gaming room, you can invite online friends to join you. Keep in mind that this doesn’t always work, depending on where that friend is playing. The invite works great to and from Xbox and Windows platforms, but Switch and PS4 can only Send invitations, do not receive them. This means that it can be a bit more difficult to set up games on Switch and PS4.
You can still see the Friends menu in the upper right corner of your screen, and it’s accessible with the push of a button from the main menu or from the camp. Using this menu you can see your current game session (if you are in your own lobby) and see which players are currently in the lobby. You can always switch to a private game if you don’t want players on your friends list to randomly join on their own, but if you want to log out you will have to opt out and start a new offline lobby. .
Since cross play in Minecraft Dungeons is new, there are bound to be growing pains. If you encounter an error, a second attempt almost always does the trick, so it’s likely that these errors are one-time connection issues. If you are having repeated issues connecting with friends over platform lines, restart your game and make sure your Microsoft account online settings allow cross-platform multiplayer.
Not your average Minecraft
Minecraft dungeons
Minecraft explores the dungeons.
Minecraft Dungeons is the next saga in Minecraft history, and Mojang Studios has brought another out of the park. Awesome co-op combat paired with powerful loot, all at a crazy affordable price? There’s not much you could ask for in an epic dungeon crawl ARPG.
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