This subscription service gives each subscriber their own personal Minecraft server.
Here’s everything parents need to know about Minecraft Realms.
Minecraft Realms is a subscription service that allows Minecraft players to play the sandbox game on their own and/or with other players in their own personal server that’s stored in the cloud. These servers are called “Realms.”
Once someone subscribes to Minecraft Realms, they can invite up to 10 people to play online with them in their Realm. These “visiting” players don’t have to subscribe to Minecraft Realms to participate in the subscriber’s Realm.
Realms are private experiences, meaning a subscriber will need to invite other people to play in their Realm with them. Realms are also designed to be “always online.” This means that once a subscriber adds someone to their Realm, that person will be able to access the Realm at any point in the future, even if the subscriber isn’t playing Minecraft at the same time.
While Realms are designed to be “always online,” subscribers have the option to turn their Realm off, which will cause it to go offline until they turn it back on. When a Realm is offline, other players won’t be able to access it.
Each Realm has three different world slots, as well as a slot for mini-games. This means subscribers can store multiple worlds within their Realm. However, only a single “slot,” or world, can be active at any time. The other worlds will remain stored in the cloud and subscribers can switch to them when they want to play in them.
Finally, each Minecraft Realm has a “Club” where invited players can interact with one another. The only people who can access a Realm’s “Club” are the players who the subscriber has invited to their Realm.
There are two different versions of the Minecraft video game available to choose from (Java Edition and Bedrock Edition), and there are different Minecraft Realm subscription plans available for each version.
If someone plays the Java Edition of Minecraft on Windows, Mac, or Linux, they can subscribe to Minecraft Realms for $7.99 per month. This plan allows subscribers to invite up to 10 people to play with them in their Realm.
If someone plays the Bedrock Edition of Minecraft on a console (Switch, PlayStation, or Xbox console), mobile device, or PC, they can choose from two Minecraft Realms subscriptions.
The basic Minecraft Realms subscription is priced at $3.99 per month. This plan allows subscribers to invite up to two people to play with them in their Realm.
The Realms Plus subscription is priced at $7.99 per month. This plan allows subscribers to invite up to 10 people to play with them in their Realm. Realms Plus subscribers will also receive access to more than 150 content packs in the Minecraft Marketplace, which they can access as long as they have a Realms Plus subscription. New content is added to the Minecraft Marketplace catalog on a monthly basis.
You can compare the benefits and features that are included in the three Minecraft Realms subscription plans in the chart below.
Some platforms require players to have an online subscription in order to play multiplayer games (like Minecraft) online. For instance, a Nintendo Switch Online membership is required to play Minecraft online on Nintendo Switch. If players don’t have the online membership that’s required on their platform, they won’t be able to play Minecraft online or join any Minecraft Realms on that platform. You can learn more about the online memberships that are required to play Minecraft online on Minecraft’s Help Center website.
Next, parents should know that Realms Plus subscribers can use the content packs that are available in the Minecraft Marketplace catalog even if they’re playing Minecraft offline and aren’t playing in their Realm. Subscribers will need to login online at least once every 30 days to confirm that their subscription is still active.
It’s also possible for packs to be removed from the Realms Plus catalog. Players will be notified before a pack is removed.
Finally, the Minecraft development team has released a number of tutorial videos and articles related to creating and using the Realms service. You can view this content on Minecraft’s website. You can also read answers to frequently asked questions related to Minecraft Realms on Minecraft’s Help Center website.
Brandy Berthelson has been writing about video games and technology since 2006, with her work appearing on sites including AOL Games, Digital Spy, and Adweek. When she’s not gaming, Brandy enjoys crafting, baking, and traveling with her husband.
