Typically, when players want to play Minecraft on their mobile devices, they have to do so through a version of the game that runs on the Bedrock Edition codebase.

You can play Minecraft solo, but it's much more fun with friends. Here's how to play multiplayer in Minecraft: Java Edition.

"Minecraft" offers cross-platform play for both versions of the game — Bedrock and Java — but you can only play with users who own the same version.

Rather than enrolling in a dedicated beta program, Minecraft: Java Edition allows you to select a slice of pre-release software for you to try.

While some Minecraft players may remember the days when playing multiplayer took some legwork, Mojang has made playing with friends incredibly simple and accessible since the beta days.