Play

The "Worlds" tab of the Play screen in grid mode

The Play menu is one of the game's multiple menu screens where players can play or create worlds, and join Realms or servers.

Overview

The menu is divided into three tabs: "Worlds", "Realms" and "Servers". Clicking "Play" on the main menu brings the player to the "Worlds" tab regardless of whether worlds exist.

The back button (as well as ⎋ Escape and Menu Cancel on keyboard; or on controller) returns to the main menu. The Social drawer can be opened on the top-right and shows all online friends as well as the Party status.

Worlds

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The "Worlds" tab in list mode

This tab lists all worlds in order of last played or edited. Worlds set visible to LAN players in the same local network appear at the top of the list, as well as joinable friend's worlds and Realms.

With the buttons on the top-left, the worlds can be organized on grid view or on list view. On large GUI scales, only list is available. On grid view, 2–4 worlds are shown per row depending on the GUI scale. The world size is not shown on grid view.

Up to 12 worlds are shown per page; navigating is possible at the bottom of each page.

On Windows, any .mcworld world file from the device folders can be imported into the game files using the "Import world" button on the top-right.

World button

A world button can be selected to open the loading world screen and start playing. World buttons have the following elements:

• Thumbnail. On local worlds, this defaults to a screenshot automatically taken while saving and quitting. It can be changed to any locally stored screenshot in the edit world screen. Joinable games and missing images default to a generic image, worlds stored in the cloud‌^[planned] and not on the device have a cloud image. Worlds created from templates can have custom thumbnails.
• World name, editable for local worlds.
• Host name for joinable games (Player's world). LAN servers use the server name as host name.
• Last played or edited date and world size (not in grid mode).
• "Edit" button for opening the Edit world screen on local worlds. This button is not available when using a controller in grid view, instead, the player needs to press or on the selected world.
• Tags and icons:
  • Experimental tag (yellow), not on joinable games. Experimental worlds might show a warning before playing.
  • Tags for the default game mode: Survival, Creative, Adventure, Hardcore, or Unknown.
    • On local games, Hardcore also shows a red border with an animated Hardcore heart on the thumbnail. When the "Show days played" setting is enabled, it also shows the days played except when experiments are enabled. Hardcore worlds where the player died have a grayed out icon on the thumbnail.
  • Online play tags: LAN world (blue), Friend's world, or Friend of friend's world (green).
  • Cloud storage icons for when the world is only stored on the device, or only in the cloud and needs to be downloaded.‌^[planned]
  • World offline tag for when the player cannot connect to the internet and the world is available offline.
  • Multiplayer disabled tag for when the player is banned from online play.
• Online players and maximum indicator on joinable games. Turns red when the game is full.

Create new world

The Create from... screen

Owned templates in the Create from... screen

Upon clicking the "Create new world" button, the player is taken to a screen with the option to create worlds from a Marketplace or custom world template. The green "Create new world" button opens the Create new world screen where a world can be created from scratch.

There are three tabs for templates.

• Marketplace Pass shows some world templates, add-ons, and texture packs included in the Marketplace Pass. A button shows the thumbnail, name, author, and rates. The button at the bottom of the list opens the Marketplace with all Marketplace Pass content.
• Featured creators shows some world templates outside Marketplace Pass. More templates can be found with the button below.
• Owned by me shows all world templates the player has access to, including those in the Marketplace Pass when the player is subscribed. The list can be filtered on name with a searchbar, and there are filter options for Show all, Downloaded, Imported, and Purchased from the Marketplace. The list can be sorted on newest or oldest, or alphabetical. On Windows, custom .mctemplate world template files can be imported from the device folders.

Selecting a world template opens the Marketplace purchase page (when not owned), initiates downloading (when not downloaded), or opens the Create new world screen with the template's data. This generally includes certain packs, world settings, world name and thumbnail, and world data. Some world settings may be locked by the creator, which can be unlocked using a button above.

Downloaded Marketplace templates show a button that opens the pack's rate screen in the Marketplace. Imported templates have a tag.

Realms

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Without access

The "Realms" tab of the Play screen without access to a Realm

When the player does not own any Realms and has not joined any Realms, this tab looks similar to the Realms screen in the main menu. It shows some information about Realms and a FAQ.

At the top of the page, a purple "Buy now" (or "Free trial") button takes the player to the Realms purchase page, where they can select and buy a subscription, or view more information. This is not available in Preview.

The "Invitations" button opens the Inbox for Realms invites and shows a batch notification when there are invites. The "Join a Realm" button opens the screen to enter invite links.

With access

The main page of an owned Realm in the "Realms" tab

The main page of a joined Realm in the "Realms" tab

All Realms the player has access to are listed on the left side of the screen, owned Realms and joined Realms. The button shows the name of the Realm, face icon of the owner, name of the owner, and an online indicator when players are active. It can also show a batch notification for the Realms Hub, or tags for when the Realm is expired, closed, or full.

An "Invitations" button with a batch notification appears when there are pending invites. The button at the bottom of the list allows to add a Realms subscription (not in Preview), enter invite links, or view the Realms information page.

The right side of the tab, the selected Realm's page, shows the amount of active/maximum players and their face icons. The purple "Play" button opens the loading world screen to join the Realm. When the Realm is full, a yellow tag is shown and the Realm is grayed out; only the owner can join. When the Realm is closed or expired, a red tag is shown and no players can join; administrators can re-open with the purple button and owners can renew the subscription.

The page also shows the world name, game mode tag, type of Realm (joined, owned, Preview), and the Realm description, which can be set by administrators. At the bottom, it shows when the player last joined the Realm, and there is a button to open the Realms help guides for administrators in the Realms Hub.​^{[upcoming: BE 26.60]}

The Realms Hub can be opened from this screen for any player, regardless of the Realm's status. It allows access to social features and Realm management for administrators. A batch notification may show when there are unread story posts.

Servers

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The "Servers" tab of the Play screen

This tab shows external servers the player can join. The list is composed of featured servers organized in "Featured experiences" and "Creator experiences". The servers are listed with their icon, name, and message of the day (MOTD).

When a server is selected, the right side of the screen provides a description about the server, activities, and news. The active player count and ping strength are shown; higher ping may result in connection issues. With the "Play" button, the player can join the server.

The ping icons correspond to the following ping times:

Icon	Server ping time
	Between 0 and 150ms
	Between 150 and 300ms
	Between 300 and 600ms
	Can't connect to server

External servers

Adding an external server

External servers can be added with the "Add server" button, which is not available on consoles. An official server list is provided for external servers.

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Server name

The name of the server used in the server list. The name does not matter for connecting.

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Server address

The web or IP address to which the game must connect in order to join the server.

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Port

The server port required to join. Defaults to 19132.

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An external server can be saved with "Add server"; "Add and play" lets the player directly join the server.

The "Other Server" list shows additional servers added by the player.

Saved servers are shown on the bottom of the list under "Other Server". They show a ping and active players indicator, and can be joined with the green "Play" button.

The server details include the name, address (hidden by default), and port. External servers can be edited or removed at any time.

A server's MOTD can be seen on the list under the server's name, though Bedrock Dedicated Server does not provide an option to specify the server's MOTD. Instead, the MOTD can be specified using a third-party software, like GeyserMC.

Servers hosted on the same network (LAN) are shown on the "Worlds", but can also be manually added here by specifying localhost as address.

Redesign

Currently in Preview, the "Servers" tab is redesigned. The featured servers are shown in a list of different categories with OneBlockOnline as banner on top. Pressing a server's button opens its page with the option to play. The categories are "New & Featured", "Top games", and "All servers"; though not all servers are currently included.

The option to add an external server is at the bottom of the page, and they are listed on a separate screen.

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  The updated "Servers" tab
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  A server's page
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  The bottom of the page, with the external server options
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  The "My servers" screen

Bedrock Editor

The Play screen in the Editor also functions as main menu; it is the first screen opened on launch. Pressing ⎋ Escape or Menu Cancel opens a pop-up to close the game. At the top of the page, there is a button opening the settings, and a button to sign in with a Microsoft account. When signed in, this is replaced with a profile button opening a drawer with the player's profile button, links to share the gamertag, open the Xbox account settings, or privacy and online safety settings.

Projects

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This functions similar to the regular "Worlds" tab, but shows Editor projects, and no joinable multiplayer games. The "Import" button can be used to import world files as project, and to import .mcproject project files.

Project Servers

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This tab lists all external servers, regardless of whether they are Editor mode servers. It is required for a server to be launched as Editor server with a project to join it.

History

Bedrock Edition
1.2.0			beta 1.2.0.2				Added the "Servers" tab, with a section for featured servers.
			beta 1.2.0.18				The option to add an external server to the list is not included in the console builds.
1.16.0			beta 1.16.0.66				The "Servers" tab has been updated.
1.21.60			Preview 1.20.30.22				Enabled a new UI for the Play screen "Worlds" tab.
			Preview 1.20.60.21				Added the Friends drawer, available in the Play screen.
			Preview 1.20.80.21				Play screen "Servers" tab has been updated to match Ore UI.
			Preview 1.21.30.24				Create from Template screen has been updated to match Ore UI.
			Preview 1.21.40.22				Play screen "Realms" Tab has been updated to match Ore UI.
1.21.90			Preview 1.21.90.20				The top world now has a double-sized button in grid mode.
			Preview 1.21.90.25				Removed the toggle to show LAN worlds on the Play screen; they are now always shown.
			?				The "Options" button on an owned Realm has been split up in "Add members" and "Settings".
?			?				Reverted the change to the top world button size.
26.10			Preview 26.10.23				Hardcore worlds now display the amount of days played if the game rule is enabled.
Preview 26.20.20							The Play screen in the Editor has been updated to match Ore UI, available in Preview only.
26.20			Preview 26.20.22				Replaced Realms Stories with the Realms Hub; removed the "Settings" and "Add members" buttons on the Play screen.
April 22, 2026							Renamed "Servers" tab to "Discover", "Multiplayer Experiences", or "Creator Multiplayer", which differs per player.
26.40			Preview 26.30.28				Each world button now shows an icon if it is not synced to the cloud or only available in the cloud.
June 29, 2026							Renamed the servers tab back to "Servers"
26.50			Preview 26.50.20				Grid layout can now show two, three, or four columns of worlds depending on the GUI scale.
							World templates are now sorted on acquired date by default.
			release				The Play screen in the Editor has been updated to match Ore UI.
Upcoming Bedrock Edition
26.60			Preview 26.60.22				The "Servers" tab has been redesigned with more prominent featured servers.
			Preview 26.60.24				The "Add server" and "My servers" buttons have been moved to the bottom of the Servers tab.
			Preview 26.60.29				A background overlay is now applied for the top featured server.
							Added a "Learn more" button to the Realms tab for administrators to open the Realms help guides.

Issues

Issues relating to "Play screen" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• Every time the Play menu is opened, there is about a 1% chance that the Worlds tab icon will change to .

Gallery

Screenshots

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  The "Worlds" tab when there are no worlds
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  The "Featured creators" tab
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  A full Realm in the Play screen
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  A closed Realm in the Realms tab
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  An expired Realm in the Realms tab
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  The Edit server screen

Historical screenshots

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  The World Selection screen before v0.7.0
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  World Selection screen from v0.7.0 to v0.8.1
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  World Selection screen in v0.11.0 (Moved the edit button)
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  The Realms screen when not logged in from v0.7.0 to v0.7.5
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  The Realms screen when logged in from v0.7.0 to v0.7.5
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  World Selection screen in 1.12.0
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  Importing worlds in 1.2.0
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  Importing worlds in 1.2.0
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  The "Worlds" tab of the "Play" menu before the Ore UI redesign
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  The "Friends" tab of the "Play" menu before the Ore UI redesign
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  The "Servers" tab of the "Play" menu before the Ore UI redesign
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  An owned Realm in the Realms tab before the Realms Hub update
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  A joined Realm before the Realms Hub

Development images

Screenshots

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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab.
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  An early look of the play screen "realms" tab.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab.
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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab on something went wrong.
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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab on wrong storage location.
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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab on import worlds button.
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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab on importing world.
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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab on error.
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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab on hidden.
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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab on grid.
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  An early look of the play screen "all" tab on list.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on featured.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on other server.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on add a new server screen.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on error.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on something went wrong.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on xbox controller hints.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on playstation controller hints.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on sign in.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on unknown external server.
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  An early look of the play screen on friends drawer.
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  An early look of the play screen on friends drawer.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on offline.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on parental permission needed.
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  An early look of the play screen "servers" tab on banned.
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  An early look of the play screen on friends drawer on parental permission needed.
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  An early look of the play screen "realms" tab.
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  An early look of the play screen "realms" tab.
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  An early look of the play screen "realms" tab.
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  An early look of the play screen "realms" tab.
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  An early look of the play screen "realms" tab.
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  An early look of the play screen "realms" tab on add members button.

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Videos

• An early look of the play screen servers tab.

See also

• Ore UI, the Bedrock Edition UI refresh