There’s no worse letdown than rounding up a group of friends for a Minecraft survival marathon, only to realize half of you play on PS5 and the other half on Xbox. You might’ve heard conflicting info about cross-platform support for the game over the years, so you’re probably wondering: can PS5 and Xbox play Minecraft together? We’ve tested every step of the setup process, fixed every weird connection error, and put together this guide to help you jump into a shared world with zero hassle.
Can PS5 and Xbox Play Minecraft Together? Short Answer First
Yes, you absolutely can play Minecraft together on PS5 and Xbox, as long as both players are running the Bedrock Edition of Minecraft. If you purchased and downloaded Minecraft on either console after 2018, Bedrock is the default version pre-installed, so you won’t have to buy any extra copies or upgrades to access crossplay. The only exception is if you intentionally track down the old legacy console edition of Minecraft, which is no longer available for official download, so most players won’t run into this issue.
It wasn’t always this easy. Before Microsoft acquired Mojang, each console had its own isolated version of Minecraft that couldn’t connect to other platforms. The rollout of the unified Bedrock Edition changed that, letting players on PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, mobile, and Windows PC (running Bedrock) all join the same world together. I tested this last weekend with my roommate’s Xbox Series S and my PS5, and we spent three hours building a nether highway with zero connection drops, so the system is far more stable than it was when crossplay first launched.
Step-by-Step Setup to Play Minecraft Crossplay Between PS5 and Xbox
The setup process only takes 5 to 10 minutes total, as long as you follow these steps in order. Skipping even one small step can lead to connection errors later, so take it slow the first time you set it up.
- First, confirm both players are running Minecraft Bedrock Edition. You can check the version label in the bottom right corner of the main menu to be 100% sure, but again, almost all console copies of Minecraft sold after 2018 are Bedrock by default.
- Link both your PSN account and Xbox account to a valid Microsoft account. This is required because Minecraft’s crossplay network runs entirely through Microsoft’s servers, regardless of what console you’re using. Xbox users already have this set up automatically, since your Xbox account is tied to a Microsoft account by default. PS5 users can link their accounts by opening Minecraft, following the pop-up prompt, or heading to the “Linked Services” section of their PS5 account settings.
- Have one player create a new world, and toggle the “Visible to LAN” and “Crossplay” options in the world settings before launching. You can also adjust these settings for an existing world by opening the pause menu and navigating to the world settings tab mid-game.
- The second player should head to the “Friends” tab in the Minecraft main menu. As long as you’ve added each other as friends on your linked Microsoft accounts, the host’s world will pop up under the “Crossplay Friends” section automatically.
- If you don’t see the world pop up after a minute, have the host pull up their 8-digit world invite code from the pause menu. The joining player can enter this code in the “Join with Code” section of the main menu to connect directly, no friend list required.
If you plan to play on the same world for weeks or months at a time, Minecraft Realms is the best option for long-term crossplay worlds between PS5 and Xbox. Realms are Microsoft-hosted servers that run 24/7, so no one has to leave their console on for other players to join. They also auto-backup your world every few minutes, so you won’t lose hours of building progress if a host’s console crashes or loses power. Realms subscriptions start at a few dollars a month, and support up to 10 concurrent players, which is perfect for most friend groups.
Common Crossplay Issues Between PS5 and Xbox (And Easy Fixes)
Even if you follow every step perfectly, you might run into a few small errors. We’ve dealt with all of these personally, so these fixes work 90% of the time without any extra tech knowledge needed.
The most common issue is the host’s world not showing up in the friends list. 9 times out of 10, this is because you added each other as PSN or Xbox friends, but not as Microsoft account friends. The crossplay system only recognizes Microsoft friends, so head to the Microsoft account website to send friend requests to each other if you haven’t already. Last month, I spent 20 minutes troubleshooting this exact issue with my little cousin: he’d added my PSN account but forgot to send a request to my Microsoft account, so his world never popped up. That tiny mistake is so easy to make, so double check that first.
If you get a connection timeout error when trying to join, first check that both your console system software and Minecraft game are updated to the latest version. Outdated versions often have crossplay compatibility bugs that get patched in regular updates. If that doesn’t work, try restarting your router, or switching from wifi to a wired ethernet connection if you have the option. Strict NAT type is the most common culprit for random crossplay disconnections, so head to your console’s network settings to check your NAT type. If it says “Strict”, you can fix this by enabling UPnP in your router settings, or setting a static IP for your console and opening the required Minecraft ports.
Another common error is the “crossplay not enabled” pop-up. This usually means one player has accidentally turned off crossplay in their account privacy settings. You can find this toggle under the “Privacy” tab in Minecraft’s in-game settings, and make sure it’s switched on. A lot of parents turn this off by default when setting up kid accounts, so if you’re playing with a younger family member, you might need to log into the parent account to adjust this permission.
Limitations to Know Before Playing Minecraft Crossplay on PS5 and Xbox
Crossplay works really well for most use cases, but there are a few small limitations you should be aware of before you start building, so you don’t run into unexpected issues halfway through a playthrough.
First, you won’t be able to join custom Java Edition servers with your crossplay group. PS5 and Xbox players can only access Bedrock-compatible servers and official Minecraft Realms, so if your favorite server is built for Java Edition, you won’t be able to access it from console. There are still thousands of great Bedrock servers to choose from, though, including popular minigame servers like Hypixel Bedrock, so you won’t run out of content.
Second, any platform-exclusive skins or content you’ve bought won’t show up for players on the other console. For example, if you bought a PS5-exclusive Spider-Man skin pack, your Xbox friends will only see your default character skin, not the Spider-Man skin. This is a small cosmetic issue that doesn’t affect gameplay at all, but it’s worth noting if you’re excited to show off a new skin to your friends.
Third, if you’re playing on a local hosted world (not a Realm), the host’s console performance will impact everyone’s gameplay. If the host turns their render distance up to maximum, or builds a huge farm with hundreds of mobs spawning at once, all other players will experience lag or frame drops. If you plan to build large, complex bases, it’s worth splitting the cost of a Realms subscription to avoid this issue entirely, since the server is hosted off-site and won’t be affected by one player’s console performance.
Finally, you can’t transfer progress between console versions of Minecraft. If you’ve been playing on Xbox for 5 years and switch to PS5 later, you won’t be able to move your existing worlds or purchased DLC over to the new console. Your Microsoft account will save your friend list and crossplay permissions, but platform-specific progress stays locked to that console.
At the end of the day, the answer to can PS5 and Xbox play Minecraft together is a resounding yes, as long as you take 10 minutes to set up your accounts correctly and follow the simple steps we outlined. Crossplay has come a long way in the last few years, and it’s easier than ever to play with friends no matter what console they own. Next time you plan a group play session, skip the debate about which console is better, jump into a shared world, and spend your time building instead of troubleshooting. If you want to make the experience even better, hook up a group Discord call for voice chat – it’s far more reliable than the in-game crossplay voice system, in my experience.