Do you need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play Minecraft multiplayer servers E.G...

Thanks, that's the problem

In order to play any multiplayer / online mode on Minecraft you need Gold / Ultimate

The only modes that doesn't require it are local multiplayer and single player.

You can check similar thread here:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/xbox/forum/...

XBF Amber F answer:

"Minecraft itself may be played in an offline capacity without the need to have an Xbox Live Gold subscription; however, if your son wishes to utilize the following aspects of game play within Minecraft, he then would need a subscription:
Realms
Connecting to servers
Cross-platform play
For local multiplayer gaming, you don’t need an Xbox Live Gold subscription"

"Looks like you need to renew gold" is a message that appears when your Xbox Live Gold subscription has expired or is about to expire. Minecraft Bedrock Edition requires an active Xbox Live Gold subscription to play online multiplayer with other players.

To continue playing Minecraft bedrock on your PC, you will need to renew your Xbox Live Gold subscription. You can do this by visiting the Xbox website or using the Xbox app on your PC. Once you have renewed your subscription, sign in to your Xbox Live account within the Minecraft game to enable online multiplayer and remove the renewal prompt.

If by "mini games" you mean "play multiplayer", then yes, you will need an active Xbox Live Gold subscription in order to connect to other players' servers.

Xbox Live Gold is required for all forms of multiplayer gameplay on the Xbox.

Live is basically Microsoft's online servers. You don't have to have gold to be signed into Live, but you need a gold subscription to do things on Live such as play online multiplayer and take part in special gold discounts.

If you want to play any game online on your Xbox console you will need an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. This is the same if you want to play free games on your Xbox online.