Mojang has added a built-in friends list and peer-to-peer multiplayer to Minecraft Java Edition with Snapshot 26.2-7. Players can now invite friends to singleplayer worlds without needing a server or Realms subscription.
Mojang released Minecraft 26.2 Snapshot 7 on 12 May 2026, adding two features Java Edition players have requested for over a decade: a built-in Friends List and peer-to-peer (P2P) multiplayer. For the first time, Java players can invite friends directly into their singleplayer worlds without setting up a dedicated server, configuring port forwarding, or paying for a Minecraft Realms subscription. With over 212 million monthly active users across all editions, this update closes one of the biggest feature gaps between Java and Bedrock.
What Does the Friends List Do?
The Friends List is accessible from a new Friends button on both the Title Screen and the Pause Menu. It can also be opened with a keybind, set to “O” by default. The list has two tabs: Friends, which shows your current friends and lets you add new ones by searching their Java profile name, and Pending, which displays incoming and outgoing friend requests.
Each friend’s activity is displayed under their name with one of four statuses: “Offline”, “Online”, “In a world”, or “In a joinable world”. The Friends button shows a notification badge for incoming requests (up to five, with a “more” indicator beyond that). Toast notifications also appear in-game when requests are sent, received, or accepted, showing the other player’s skin face when available.
Friends added through Xbox also appear in your Java Friends List, as long as they own Java Edition. This means players who already have Xbox-linked social connections will see familiar names right away.
How Does Peer-to-Peer Multiplayer Work?
The old Open to LAN screen has been replaced by a new Multiplayer Options menu. When you pause your singleplayer game, you can now set the multiplayer scope to one of three levels:
- Off: Nobody can join your world (this is the default).
- Local: Only players on your local network can join, exactly like the old LAN feature.
- Online: Friends can join your world from anywhere in the world.
When set to Online, two connection paths are available. The host can invite friends directly, or friends can request to join a world that appears as “joinable” in their Friends List. Both invitations and join requests can be accepted or denied. The system uses direct peer-to-peer networking, so the host’s computer acts as the server. There is no central server involved beyond the initial signalling process.
How to Enable the Friends List
Some players may find the Friends button missing after installing Snapshot 7. The feature needs to be manually enabled for certain accounts:
- Open Options from the main menu.
- Go to Online settings.
- Toggle the Friends List option to on.
- Enable Allow Requests so other players can send you friend requests.
A first-time confirmation dialog will appear when you click the Friends button on the Title Screen. After accepting, the system is fully active. You can also configure Presence settings to control how much activity you share: “All” enables full activity sharing and join requests, “Limited” only shows online/offline status, and “None” makes you appear offline to everyone.
Why Did Java Take So Long to Get This?
Bedrock Edition has supported friends lists and direct world joining for years across consoles and mobile. The Xbox 360 edition had local world joining over a decade ago. Java Edition, however, only supported LAN play or connecting to external servers. Players who wanted private multiplayer without technical setup had to either pay for Realms, use third-party tools like Hamachi, or install community mods like Essential or e2mc.
While these mods served the purpose, they came with trade-offs. Essential is closed-source and collects significant user data, raises compatibility issues with other mods, and sells paid cosmetics. Open-source alternatives like e2mc were lighter but less well-known. Mojang’s official solution removes the need for any of these workarounds, giving Java players Bedrock-style multiplayer convenience as a built-in, first-party feature.
Will It Work with Mods?
Mojang has not officially confirmed mod compatibility. However, since the P2P system works by hosting a singleplayer world and allowing remote connections, it is widely expected to work with mods as long as all players are running the same mod set and the same Minecraft version. This could be a significant upgrade for modded multiplayer communities that previously relied on dedicated servers or third-party hosting solutions.
Privacy, Security, and What to Watch Out For
Peer-to-peer connections come with inherent trade-offs that players should understand:
- Host dependency: The player hosting the world acts as the server. If they close the game or lose internet, everyone disconnects.
- Latency: Game quality depends on the host’s hardware and internet connection. Players far from the host may experience higher ping.
- IP visibility: In P2P systems, connecting players can potentially see the host’s IP address. This could expose the host to DDoS attacks or rough geolocation.
- VPN complications: Using a VPN to hide your IP can interfere with P2P traffic, blocking connections unless the VPN is specifically configured to allow it.
Mojang has integrated Xbox account privacy settings directly into the Online Options menu. An “Xbox Settings” button opens the Microsoft account privacy page, where players can manage who can communicate with them and who can see their activity. If your Xbox profile chat is set to “Friends Only”, you will only see messages from players on your friends list.
Known Issues in This First Release
Mojang has acknowledged that this is the first version of the system and listed several known bugs:
- Cancelling a friend request before the receiver accepts it can desync the receiver’s incoming list.
- Rejecting a friend request can leave the sender’s outgoing list out of sync.
- If the Friends List is on but “Allow Requests” is off, others cannot accept your outgoing requests.
- Players with Xbox chat set to “Friends Only” cannot see their own chat messages.
These are relatively minor issues, and Mojang has confirmed fixes will arrive in upcoming snapshots. The system is expected to be polished well before the full Chaos Cubed release.
When Does Chaos Cubed Launch?
The Friends List and P2P multiplayer are part of the Minecraft 26.2 Chaos Cubed update. This is the second major content drop of 2026, following the Tiny Takeover update (26.1) released on 24 March 2026. Chaos Cubed is expected to launch around mid to late June 2026 and brings Sulfur Caves, the physics-driven Sulfur Cube mob, Cinnabar and Sulfur block families, geysers, and a new soundtrack by fingerspit (Paula Ruiz), including the music disc “Bounce”.
Things Players Usually Ask
Is the friends list free to use?
Yes. It requires no subscription and no additional purchase. All you need is a valid Minecraft: Java Edition license and a Microsoft account.
How many players can join a P2P world?
Mojang has not specified a hard player limit in the Snapshot 7 patch notes. Performance will depend on the host’s hardware and network. The feature is designed primarily for small friend groups rather than large-scale multiplayer.
Can Java and Bedrock players play together now?
No. The Friends List does not enable cross-play between Java and Bedrock editions. The two versions still use separate server infrastructure and are not interoperable.
Do I need to keep my game open for friends to play?
Yes. Since there is no dedicated server, the host must keep Minecraft running for others to remain connected. If the host exits the game, all connected players are disconnected.
How do I try the snapshot?
Open the Minecraft Launcher, go to the Installations tab, and enable snapshots. Testing builds can corrupt worlds, so back up your saves or run the snapshot in a separate game directory.
The addition of a native friends list and peer-to-peer multiplayer is one of the largest quality-of-life improvements Minecraft: Java Edition has received in years. It brings Java closer to feature parity with Bedrock and finally makes playing with friends as simple as it should have been all along. With the full Chaos Cubed update approaching, the summer of 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most significant periods in Minecraft’s ongoing evolution.
