Purchasing and Setting Up a New Bedrock Realm

Minecraft Realms are personal multiplayer servers that you can use to play with your friends. Your Minecraft Realm is always online and can always be accessed by you or anyone you invite. There are two different types of Realms subscriptions, Realms and Realms Plus.

In this tutorial, you will learn the following:

  • How to purchase a Realms or Realms Plus subscription on Bedrock.
  • The difference between Realms and Realms Plus subscriptions.
  • Requirements for a Realms or Realms Plus subscription.
  • How to set up a new Realm.

Purchasing a Realms or Realms Plus subscription

Subscribing to Realms or Realms Plus will give you access to one Realm. If you have never purchased Realms Plus before, you can start a free trial for Realms Plus for 30 days. After your trial is over, you will be charged the appropriate subscription fee every month.

To purchase a Minecraft Realms Plus subscription, follow these instructions:

  1. In Minecraft, select Play and choose Create New World.
  2. Choose your world settings and select Create on Realms.
  3. Choose whether you want to Add a 10 player Realm or to Add a 2 player Realm.
  4. Make sure to read the Terms & Conditions and the Privacy Policy and check the I agree box.
  5. If you qualify for a free trial, select the Start Trial button. Otherwise, select the Subscribe Now $7.99/Month button.

Realms and Realms Plus

There are several key differences between a Realms and a Realms Plus subscription:

With a Realms subscription, you can:

  • Invite as many friends to your Realm as you want, your friends always play for free
  • Play online with up to two friends simultaneously
  • Keep your world active and online, even when you are not playing
  • Play on any device with the Minecraft Marketplace
  • Let your friends play while you are away

With a 10-Player Realm (Realms Plus) subscription, you get all of the benefits of a Realms subscription and can also:

  • Play online with up to 10 friends simultaneously
  • Access a catalog of more than 150 Marketplace Pass content items that rotate monthly to provide fresh content

What do I need to get a Realms subscription

If you are playing Minecraft on Windows or an Android or iOS device and already have a free Microsoft account, you are ready to go! If you are playing Minecraft on a console, you will need to have an active subscription to your console’s network service:

  • Xbox Live Gold (Microsoft Xbox consoles)
  • PlayStation Plus (Sony PlayStation consoles)
  • Nintendo Switch Online (Nintendo Switch consoles)

You will also need to configure your Xbox/Windows Online Safety settings to allow Minecraft to communicate over the Internet and make sure that the Clubs and Multiplayer settings are both set to Allowed (click here for more information).

Setting up a Realm

After you have purchased a Realms or Realms Plus subscription, you will need to set up your Realm world. You can either create a new world, or you can use one of your existing worlds on your Realm.

To create a new Realm, follow these instructions:

  1. In Minecraft, click Play.
  2. Click the Create New button and then click the Create New World button. If you have a Realms Plus subscription, you can also choose a Realms Plus template to load. Click the template you want, then click the Download button, and then click the Create this World! button. 
  3. Choose the game and multiplayer settings for your new world.
  4. After you have completed adjusting your world settings, click the Create on Realms button.
  5. Choose to create a new Realm. 

To play an existing world on your Realm, follow these instructions:

  1. In Minecraft, click Play.
  2. Click the Edit button next to the world you want to load.
  3. Adjust any game or multiplayer settings you want to change.
  4. Click the Play on Realm button.
  5. Choose the Realm you want to load your world onto. 

Note: If the Realm you choose already has a world loaded, this will replace that world and any saved progress. Any friends you have invited to that Realm will be able to play on the new world. If you want to save your progress in this world, you can download your world before you create a new one.