Minecraft Better Together Beta Begins Today
During E3 2017, Microsoft made a huge announcement for Minecraft. The company revealed that all Minecraft players would soon be able to join together on multiplayer servers, regardless of platform (for the most part). The update that will enable this functionality is called "Better Together," and today, that update enters into beta.
Before you get too excited, though, you should know that this beta is limited to just Android and Windows 10 for now. At an unspecified later date, the beta will go live on Xbox One, with no word of such a test coming to the Switch. That the Switch is absent from this beta test makes some degree of sense – though Microsoft is planning to launch Minecraft: Better Together for the Nintendo Switch, it's probably more trouble than its worth to hammer out a third-party beta on Nintendo's feature-poor online system.
For the record, the Better Together update will eventually launch for the Windows 10, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and VR versions of Minecraft. PlayStation 4 support is noticeably absent, as is support for the Java version of Minecraft. There's no official reason why the Better Together update won't launch on PS4, but given Sony's history with refusing cross-play support, the reason isn't hard to guess.
How you sign up for the beta depends, ultimately, on which version you're using. If you want to play through Android, you'll need to own a copy of Minecraft: Pocket Edition purchased through the Google Play Store. If you do, you can sign up for this and future Minecraft betas by following this link.
On Windows 10 and Xbox One, you'll need their respective digital copies of Minecraft and the Xbox Insider Hub app. Simply launch the Xbox Insider Hub, navigate to "Insider content" then select "Minecraft betas" and hit "join." From there, you should be signed up to participate in Minecraft betas. The Better Together beta is available today on Windows 10 and Android, and we'll keep you updated on the status of the test for Xbox One.