Do you need Game Pass to be able to play Minecraft multiplayer on PC?

Hello Cristina.D.A,

Thank you for your contribution to the Microsoft community.

We understand that you want to launch your Minecraft game and play with your friends online.

Also, thank you for providing additional information and this will help us a lot on resolving this one.

If you want to play Minecraft on your PC, it would be perfectly fine if you don't have PC Game Pass. However, for you to be able to play online/multiplayer, you need an active Xbox Live Gold on your account.

If you are still unable to play multiplayer after renewing your subscription, you can try the following steps:

1. Ensure that your Minecraft game is up-to-date by checking for updates in the Microsoft Store app.
   
2. Verify that you are signed in to your Xbox Live account by opening the Xbox app and checking your profile information.
   
3. Check if there are any updates available for your graphics driver and install them.
   
4. Try resetting the Xbox app by going to your PC Settings > Apps > Search for Xbox > Advanced Options > Reset & Repair.
   

Hope this helps. We look forward to hearing from you.


Microsoft Community Moderator

If you have been playing DayZ on Game Pass Ultimate, then when you downgrade to Core, the game is not included. You will either have to purchase the game, and then you will be able to play online with Game Pass Core, or purchase Xbox Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate to continue playing the game from there.

On another note, you do not need a subscription to play online multiplayer on the PC.

If you mean playing PC games with Xbox capabilities (e.g. achievements, Multiplayer), then you do not need a Game Pass Core subscription to play on PC, as it's only for Xbox consoles.

If however you mean playing Xbox games on the cloud, then as Rodrigo stated, you will need Game Pass Ultimate to play on the cloud.

In short, no you don't need Game Pass to play it on PC if you have bought the game.

Game Pass (not the Ultimate version) has nothing to do with Multiplayer anyway as it just allows you to download free games etc. The Ultimate Game Pass includes Xbox Live Gold within it...however, PC players do not need Gold to play online. That is the biggest benefit of playing on PC, namely not needing Gold so saving money.

Minecraft for Windows 10 is only available for the PC. If you've been playing on the console then you have Minecraft. You would need to purchase Minecraft for Windows 10 if you want to play it on the PC. Minecraft is not a Play Anywhere title. It's also
only available for Game Pass for console, not Game Pass for PC.