Minecraft is definitely at its most enjoyable as a social experience. Building a communal world gives it a wider, more lived-in sense than something you’ve created by yourself. But while playing Minecraft online has been a part of its identity since the beginning, local splitscreen functionality didn’t arrive until much later. It’s a simple feature, but it takes a bit of doing to set up. Here’s how to use splitscreen in Minecraft.
Firstly, let’s just clarify something: only console versions of Minecraft can use splitscreen, at least natively. That means the console versions of Bedrock Edition on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One (as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility) and the Legacy Edition on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U. Technically, you can use splitscreen on PC with a bit of tinkering, but we’re not talking about that right now.
How to use Splitscreen in Minecraft
To get a local splitscreen game going in Minecraft, either create a new world from the main Minecraft menu or load up an existing one. In the multiplayer settings, switch the multiplayer game toggle to off. This’ll prevent people from joining the world via online play. When you’ve got the game settings the way you like them, press the play button to launch the world. When the world is running, connect a second controller to your console. Minecraft should detect the controller automatically and tell you which button the second player should press to drop in (OPTIONS on PlayStation, Plus on Switch, etc.). Just select an account for the other player, and they’ll join in on a splitscreen right next to you.
You can also play splitscreen with folks online if, I dunno, you want to monitor them while they play or something. This only works on Xbox or PlayStation, though; Switch can’t do it. It works pretty much the same way, except the multiplayer game toggle should be on. You’ll need to send an invitation to whoever you want to join you, and once they get it, they can join your world and appear on your screen.
