What are Minecraft Realms?

A realm is usually something otherworldly, but in Minecraft, a Realm is simply a server you can use to play Minecraft with your friends! I suppose we could’ve called them “Minecraft servers”, but then we also could’ve called creepers “exploding green things” and we didn’t. But I digress! Today we’re talking about Realms: what they are, the difference between Java and Bedrock Realms, and everything else you need to know.

What is a Minecraft Realm?

A Minecraft Realm is a subscription to your own personal Minecraft server, where you can easily and safely play online with friends in shared worlds across devices. There are two different versions of Minecraft Realms, and which one you’ll need depends on which edition of Minecraft you play. 

If you play Minecraft: Java Edition and you want to host a server and play online with your friends, then you’ll need to subscribe to Realms for Java Edition. 

If you play Minecraft: Bedrock Edition then you’ll need to subscribe to Realms via the in-game Marketplace.

Not sure which edition of Minecraft you’re playing? 

If you are playing on a console, then you will be playing Bedrock Edition. 

If you are playing using a computer, then you can check your loading screen. If you are playing Java Edition, then you’ll see “Java Edition” under the Minecraft logo. If you can’t see that, then you’re playing Bedrock Edition!

Minecraft Realms for Bedrock Edition

There are two different subscriptions for Realms on Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, and which one you’ll want depends on how many friends you wish to play with! 

If you want to play Minecraft with you and two friends, then you can choose the Realms subscription. If you want to play with more than two friends, then you’ll want to subscribe to Realms Plus!

What is Realms Plus?

Realms Plus is a special subscription service that not only lets you and up to 10 friends play Minecraft together, but also allows you to access a library of 150+ pieces of content! You can load this content into your Realm, and go on group adventures through brand-new worlds, take on new Survival spawn challenges, apply awesome-looking texture packs, and more!

Minecraft Realms for Java Edition

The Java Realms subscription gives you 3 world slots for you and your 10 friends to play Minecraft together on! Your Realm is always online for all invited parties, and they’re periodically backed up on our servers, so if you happen to have a bonfire festival a little too close to the forest, you can load an older save to go back to an eco-friendlier time! If you haven’t tried it out yet, you can press the blue diamond on the Minecraft Realms button in the client to try it out free for 30 days.

Additionally, Java Realms gives you access to 100+ pieces of community created content, such as adventure maps to journey through alone or with friends, competitive minigames and awe-inspiring builds! 

What's more, because you have three world slots, you can try out different kinds of content all at the same time! If you have your Survival spawn set up on world slot 1, you can easily switch to another slot, load up a minigame there to play, and then re-select the first slot when you want to go back to your Survival world!

So there you have it! Everything you need to know about Realms for Minecraft. If there’s still something you’re not sure about, then visit the Realms page, or check out the FAQs on our help site!