Join a Minecraft Server on Switch 2, Xbox or PS5 After 26.60

Minecraft on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch has no "Add Server" button, and nothing announced for the native Switch 2 edition, which launches on Tuesday 27 October 2026, changes that. Console players can join Mojang's featured servers and Realms straight from the menu. Any other server needs a workaround, and the best known one, the BedrockConnect DNS trick, does not support NetherNet yet. NetherNet is the connection method Bedrock 26.60 moves every client to, and 26.60 is planned for the same day. Until BedrockConnect ships an update, getting a console onto your own server depends on routes the server owner sets up, such as a friends list broadcast.

Everything below was checked on 25 October 2026 against Mojang's and Nintendo's announcements, GeyserMC's documentation and the BedrockConnect and MCXboxBroadcast repositories on GitHub. Expect these projects to move quickly after the release, so check the dates on the linked sources.

What changes on 27 October

Mojang itself has not published a 26.60 changelog yet. Its latest Bedrock release is the 26.52 hotfix of 25 September, and the previews have already moved on to 26.70. The 27 October date for 26.60 comes from GeyserMC and the Minecraft Wiki, which ties it to the Switch 2 launch. If the release slips, the end of RakNet slips with it.

Players do not have to do anything to get 26.60. GeyserMC's supported versions page puts it simply: "Minecraft: Bedrock Edition updates automatically on all platforms." That is exactly why the day matters for server owners: soon after the release, most of your Bedrock players will be on the new version, whether your server is ready or not.

Switch 2: what players should know

• Vibrant Visuals by default. Mojang's footnote: not in "some gameplay, including split-screen and when using certain Marketplace Worlds and content".
• Upgrading from Switch 1. If you own a digital copy of Minecraft for Nintendo Switch, you can get the digital Standard Edition for Switch 2 for free until the end of January 2027 in most territories, through the Nintendo eShop. Mojang's pre-order post lists the exceptions: 100 JPY in Japan, 30 NTD in Taiwan and 25 THB in Thailand. Deluxe and Ultimate Collection upgrades are discounted.
• Physical copy owners. Nintendo's store page says that anyone who launches Minecraft for Nintendo Switch on a Switch 2 between 27 October 2026 at 9AM PT and 31 January 2027 at 9AM PT gets an in-game offer to upgrade to the digital Ultimate Collection at a discount.
• Minecoins stay on Nintendo. "Included Minecoins and any Minecoins purchased in Minecraft on a Nintendo device must be used in the Nintendo ecosystem." Keep that in mind before you buy a rank or cosmetics on a featured server.
• Online play needs Nintendo Switch Online. Nintendo: "Online multiplayer functionality requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately)."

For servers, the Switch 2 edition plays by the same rules as every other console.

How consoles reach servers

The Minecraft Wiki says external servers are added with the "Add server" button, "which is not available on consoles". BedrockConnect's own README describes the same gap: a list for third-party servers "is not natively available in-game" on Switch, Xbox and PlayStation. That leaves these routes:

Featured servers

Open Minecraft, press Play and go to the Servers tab: on a console, that list is all you get. Featured servers are community servers that partner with Mojang, such as The Hive, CubeCraft, Lifeboat, Galaxite and Enchanted. The wiki's featured servers page sums it up: "In the console versions, they are the only servers accessible besides Realms." Mojang has published a NetherNet onboarding guide for its partners, and the 26.60 previews improved the error message when a featured server join fails. You cannot add your own server to this list.

Realms

A Realm is a server that Mojang runs for you, and it works on every console without any workaround. The trade-off is control: you get Mojang's server software and no plugins, Geyser or Java players. Our Realms vs dedicated server comparison goes through the differences.

A friends list broadcast with MCXboxBroadcast

MCXboxBroadcast "broadcasts an existing Geyser/Bedrock server over Xbox Live", so the server shows up as a joinable session in the Friends tab of everyone who adds the account it runs on. Console players add that account as a friend once, then join from their Friends tab. It runs as a Geyser extension or as a standalone program next to a Bedrock server.

Two things to know before you set it up. The README tells you to use a second Microsoft account, because the tool emulates parts of a client "which may or may not be against TOS". And it needs to keep up with Bedrock versions, just like Geyser. Its builds 155 to 157 (18 to 25 September) contain work on its NetherNet library, but its last version update was for 26.50, and the newest build on 25 October is build 159 from 3 October. Plan to update it once a build for 26.60 is out.

BedrockConnect and the DNS trick

BedrockConnect is a small server list. You point your console's DNS at a BedrockConnect DNS server, which sends the addresses of the featured servers to BedrockConnect instead. Pick a featured server and you land in a menu where you can type any server address, and BedrockConnect passes you on to it.

The problem: BedrockConnect only speaks RakNet. Its latest release, 1.71.0 from 15 September 2026, added support for 26.50, and nothing newer has been released. On 20 October a GitHub user from outside the project team opened issue #723 and a draft pull request that adds NetherNet. The draft says it "hasn't been tested against a retail 26.60 client yet", and on 25 October it was still open and unmerged. In September a project collaborator had already asked users for patience: "We need to wait for upstream projects to update, before BC can update."

So, plainly: once a console updates to 26.60, the BedrockConnect DNS trick does not work until a NetherNet release is out and the DNS server you use runs it. GeyserMC's public GeyserConnect works the same way, and we found no announcement about NetherNet for it either.

LAN relay apps

GeyserMC's console page lists apps that make a remote server appear as a LAN game on your home network, such as BedrockTogether and MCCompanion, and Phantom on a PC. That page does not mention NetherNet. A 26.60 client no longer connects over RakNet, so any tool between the console and the server that only speaks RakNet stops working. Check each app for a 26.60 update before you rely on it.

Java servers with Geyser

Console players join a Java server through Geyser, exactly like phone and PC players on Bedrock. Two things decide whether that keeps working after 27 October:

1. Geyser has to run NetherNet. It still defaults to RakNet, and builds since 16 October log an error when NetherNet is off. The switch, the TCP and UDP port it needs, and what to do when Geyser shares the Java port are all in our Geyser NetherNet setup guide.
2. Geyser needs a build that supports 26.60. On 25 October the supported versions page reads "Geyser currently supports Minecraft Bedrock 26.30-26.52 and Minecraft Java 26.3", and the newest build was 2.12.0 build 1270 from 23 October. Update again as soon as the page lists 26.60.

That only gets Bedrock players in. Console players still need one of the routes above, and on your own Java server the realistic ones are MCXboxBroadcast as a Geyser extension or BedrockConnect once it is updated.

What server owners should do

Before 27 October

1. Geyser servers: switch to NetherNet and test it, following the setup guide.
2. Bedrock Dedicated Server: open server.properties and check that it says transport=nethernet. That is the default in the current 1.26.52.3 download, and Mojang's 26.50 changelog made NetherNet the default transport for dedicated servers. Make sure the server port accepts TCP as well as UDP: Mojang's 26.40 notes describe the client probing a dedicated server for NetherNet support over TCP before it joins. Behind NAT, the comments in that same file explain the server-udp-ports setting for publishing an external UDP port.
3. Check allow-list and online-mode. The 26.60 previews say "Dedicated servers now exit cleanly when incompatible allow-list and online-mode settings are configured". If your server suddenly stops on 26.60, look there first.
4. Tell your console players how they get in, whether that is your MCXboxBroadcast account, a Realm for now, or waiting for BedrockConnect.

On 27 October

1. Update Bedrock Dedicated Server as soon as Mojang publishes the 26.60 download. On 25 October the official download links still pointed to 1.26.52.3. Clients update automatically, so a server left on 26.52 keeps updated players out.
2. Install the first Geyser and MCXboxBroadcast builds that support 26.60.
3. Test a join from a console if you have one, otherwise from a phone, and keep the console open while you do it.

After the release

1. GeyserMC's advice for servers that run transport: both: once your players are on 26.60, switch to nethernet and close the old RakNet port.
2. Keep an eye on BedrockConnect issue #723 for a release with NetherNet support.

Troubleshooting

Running it on Space-Node

Our Minecraft server hosting runs Bedrock directly or Java with Geyser on every plan. Each plan includes three port allocations, the game port plus two that you add yourself in the panel at no cost, and we raise that to five on request. That covers the game port, a Geyser port that is open for TCP and UDP, and a voice chat port. If something does not connect on the 27th, our support team is online from 08:00 to 20:00 UTC every day.

FAQ

Can you add a server on Xbox, PS5 or Switch 2? Not from the menu. The "Add server" button is not available on consoles, and nothing announced for the Switch 2 edition changes that. Consoles get featured servers and Realms; other servers need a workaround such as a friends list broadcast or, once it is updated, BedrockConnect.

Does BedrockConnect work after Bedrock 26.60? Not on 25 October. Its latest release, 1.71.0, only speaks RakNet, which 26.60 clients no longer use. A draft pull request adds NetherNet but had not been tested against a retail 26.60 client.

When does Minecraft come out for Nintendo Switch 2? On 27 October 2026, according to Mojang and Nintendo. Digital owners of the Switch version can upgrade to the Switch 2 Standard Edition for free in most territories until the end of January 2027.

Do console players need anything special to join a Geyser server? The server needs Geyser on NetherNet with a build that supports 26.60. The console player then needs a way in: the server's MCXboxBroadcast account in their Friends tab, or BedrockConnect once it supports NetherNet.

Will my Bedrock server keep working after 27 October? It should, if it runs NetherNet, accepts TCP and UDP on its port and is updated to 26.60 on the day. A server still on RakNet, or still on 26.52, will turn away players who have updated.

Related guides: Geyser NetherNet setup before 27 October | Geyser and Floodgate crossplay setup | Bedrock Dedicated Server hosting | Realms vs dedicated server