Mojang is scaling back expectations for its next major Minecraft update. The studio recently confirmed a significant feature removal for the Java Edition 26.2 pre-release that changes how players connect.

Minecraft Java Edition 26.2 enters its pre-release phase with the first build focusing on bug fixes for the upcoming Chaos Cubed update. Notably, the Peer-to-Peer connection feature has been removed due to not meeting expectations.

Major multiplayer upgrade: Minecraft Java Edition Snapshot 7 introduces a Friends List and direct peer-to-peer world joining, ending the need for private servers in many cases. Bedrock parity boost: The new features bring Java Edition closer to Bedrock’s ...

Jack is a gaming features and news writer from the United Kingdom. He has been writing and publishing his own fictional stories and game-related blog posts since he was 14, but he's been playing games for a whole lot longer. Constantly lost in his own ...

To add friends in Minecraft Java Edition, you first need to download Minecraft 26.2 snapshot 7, since this feature first dropped in that snapshot. If you are reading this at a later date, the feature must have been released in the official version of the ...