Do you have to pay for Minecraft on PC?

How To Buy Minecraft Java Edition (Guide) | Purchase Minecraft

How do you want to play?

Available for:	Desktop		Mobile		Modern console			Other devices		Legacy console
	Windows Mac Linux (Java Edition)	Windows 10 or 11 (with Windows MR)	iOS	Android	Xbox	Nintendo Switch	PlayStation 4 (with PSVR)	Fire Devices	Oculus	Xbox 360 Edition	Nintendo Wii U Edition	New 2DS & 3DS Edition	Playstation 3	Playstation Vita Edition
Cross-platform play with Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox, Mobile, Switch, and PlayStation 4 Allows you to play with friends on different devices.	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Cross-play with Java Edition: Windows, Mac, and Linux Allows you to play with other Java edition players.	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Split screen multiplayer (online multiplayer requires subscription sold separately) Playing split screen allows up to four players to play on the screen at the same time.	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Available	Not Applicable
Controller/touch support Use a compatible game controller or touch screen.	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available
Minecraft Marketplace Discover new ways to play Minecraft with unique maps, skins, and texture packs. Available in-game from your favorite community creators. Purchases and Minecoins roam across Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox, Mobile, and Switch. On PlayStation 4 the Minecraft Store uses Tokens. Tokens are used only on PlayStation consoles and cannot be used on other platforms. Similarly, Minecoins cannot be used on PlayStation consoles.	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Downloadable Content (DLC) Use add-ons to customize your experience. Transform the look, and even change the behavior of mobs.	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available
Mods Independent, user-made additions and changes to the game.	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Official featured multiplayer servers (online multiplayer requires subscription sold separately) Public servers, partnered with Minecraft, that anyone can join, with multiplayer mini-games.	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Realms (Sold separately) Realms are servers, run by us, just for you and your friends. Invite an infinite number of friends to join your personal Realm, and play with up to 10 at a time.	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Realms Plus (Sold separately) Get access to 100+ marketplace packs to play locally or on your personal Realm server. Play with up to 10 players at a time who can access all of the content in your Realm—for free!	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Host your own server Share your world with your friends and players around the globe. Host your own multiplayer game server. Join custom servers from mobile and PC.	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Join player-hosted multiplayer servers Multiplayer games hosted on other player’s servers.	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Achievements/Trophies Complete certain challenges to earn Achievements or Trophies. Only available in Survival mode.	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Available	Available
LAN or WiFi Multiplayer Play with friends over LAN or WiFi.	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Parental Controls with Xbox Live or Microsoft Account Xbox profiles and Microsoft Accounts have age-appropriate controls and settings that you can adjust to suit your family’s needs. If you’re playing the Java edition with a Mojang account, parental controls are not available. If you’re playing the Java edition with an Xbox Profile or Microsoft account associated with your Minecraft profile, parental controls are available.	Not Applicable	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Ray Tracing Advanced graphics capabilities including support for physical based rendering, realistic lighting, vibrant colors, realistic water, and more. Content available in Minecraft Marketplace. Requires a DXR capable GPU.	Not Applicable	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Available	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

Minimum Requirements :	Recommended Requirements :
CPU	Intel Core i3-3210 3.2 GHz/ AMD A8-7600 APU 3.1 GHz or equivalent	Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz / AMD A10-7800 APU 3.5 GHz or equivalent
GPU (Integrated)	Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Ivy Bridge) or AMD Radeon R5 series (Kaveri line) with OpenGL 4.4*
GPU (Discrete)	Nvidia GeForce 400 Series or AMD Radeon HD 7000 series with OpenGL 4.4	GeForce 700 Series or AMD Radeon Rx 200 Series (excluding integrated chipsets) with OpenGL 4.5
RAM	4GB	8GB
HDD	At least 1GB for game core, maps and other files	4GB (SSD is recommended)
OS	Windows: Windows 7 and up macOS: Any 64-bit OS X using 10.9 Maverick or newer Linux: Any modern 64-bit distributions from 2014 onwards Internet connectivity is required for downloading Minecraft files, afterwards offline play is possible	64 bit recommended Windows: Windows 10 macOS: macOS 10.12 Sierra Linux: Any modern distributions from 2014 onwards
Internet connectivity is required for downloading Minecraft files, afterwards offline play is possible
Software Requirements:
Minecraft Release 1.6 or newer. Older versions will need to be updated to current versions
Please note that some users experience issues playing Minecraft while using a mismatched version of Java for their operating system (32 or 64 bit), while using certain versions of Java 7, or while multiple versions of Java are installed Starting from Minecraft 1.12, Java 8 will be required to run Minecraft. If you dont know whether you have Java 8, dont worry – our installers supply Minecraft with its own version of Java by default.

Minimum Requirements :	Recommended Requirements :
OS	Windows 10 version 14393.0 or higher, Xbox One	Windows 10 version 14393.0 or higher, Xbox One
Architecture	ARM, x64, x86	ARM, x64, x86
Memory	4 GB	8 GB
Motion controller	Not specified	Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers
Headset	Not specified	Windows Mixed Reality immersive headset
Processor	Intel Celeron J4105 | AMD FX-4100	Intel i7-6500U | AMD A8-6600K
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000 | AMD Radeon R5	NVIDIA GeForce 940M | AMD Radeon HD 8570D

Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition is real, and it is completely free if you already own the game on PC. You just need to go through a few steps.

Microsoft isn’t just releasing Windows 10 tomorrow (our early review), it’s also preparing to roll out a new version of one of its most popular games.

Downloading Minecraft: Bedrock Edition

As mentioned, each platform comes with its own unique set of methodologies. While the demands can vary, you are ultimately getting the same Minecraft you’ve come to love. Therefore, let’s see how the download process works on different platforms.

The download steps for the android version of Minecraft are as follows:

Open the Google Play Store from all applications and search for Minecraft in the search bar.

Locate the Minecraft application published by Mojang and press the Install button.

Once the APK has finished installing, a game icon will pop up in all applications. Simply open it and the game will launch.

The download steps for the iOS version are quite similar to Android. With that said, here is how you can download Minecraft on your iPhone and iPad:

Open the App Store and search for Minecraft in the search bar.

Locate the Minecraft application and press the Install button.

Once the setup has finished downloading and installing, you will be able to play Minecraft from the all apps section.

The Nintendo Switch environment needs little to no configurations to download games since the platform is meant for gamers. That being said, here is how you can download Minecraft on it:

Head to the Nintendo eShop application from the home screen of your device and press on it.

Once opened, search for Minecraft and tap on it.

Press the Install button and wait for the process to finish.

Once the game has been installed, simply head back to the game section to find Minecraft present there, enjoy!

The process is the same for all versions of Xbox, so there is no need to search the internet for standalone guides on this. In spite of this, here is how you can download Minecraft on Xbox consoles:

Open the guide by pressing the Xbox button on your controller.

From there, head to My games & apps and select See all.

This list will contain all the games you own. If Minecraft has not been installed, then you can simply press select the title in order to receive a prompt about installing the game.

Click ok, and wait for the game to install.

Similar to the Xbox version, the game can be downloaded on the supported generations of the console by using the following method:

Head to the PlayStation Store and search for Minecraft.

Once found, hit the Install button and wait for the download to finish.

After that, you can simply head back to your game library in order to play Minecraft.

In order to download Minecraft on Windows, you need to sign in to the same account you purchased Minecraft on. After that, simply follow the steps mentioned below:

Open the start menu and search for Microsoft Store.

Once opened, click on the three dots next to your profile in order to open the options.

From there, select My library and find Minecraft.

Click on the title and press Install.

While there are multiple third-party methods of downloading the Bedrock Edition, the official one still seems to be a cut above the rest. Your Minecraft experience will go as smooth as it possibly can unless you want to download the cursed Minecraft Launcher as well.

FAQ

Does Minecraft on PC cost money?