Minecraft: Here’s How To Find Other Players (PS5, Java, Xbox, Switch)

Tracking other players in Minecraft has always been a helpful feature in Minecraft or would be if it existed. If it did exist (it does), how would one approach it and execute it without and with cheats? Better yet, how do you find other players across different platforms?

Do PS4, Xbox, and Switch all run the same version of Minecraft?

To make things easier to understand, it’s worth pointing out that finding other players in your Minecraft world on different consoles is the same with any platform. Minecraft is split into roughly two versions of the game: Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Java Edition Minecraft can only be played on PCs, whereas Bedrock Edition Minecraft is played on all other devices.

So, through the rest of this article, when I’m talking about how you can find other players in Minecraft for PS4, PS5 Switch, or Xbox, I’ll be referring to all of these versions as Bedrock Edition Minecraft. Another important note is that if you’re playing the Windows 11 Edition Minecraft, you’re still playing Bedrock Edition, so the methods explained for Bedrock Edition will apply to you as well.

Can you see other players on a map in Minecraft?

If you wish to be sneaky about tracking other players in Minecraft, you, unfortunately, can’t do it without the use of cheats. To track other players, all participants must consent to this, and you’ll do it by making copies of maps and handing them out to other players. So, the first question is how do you create a map and copy it in Minecraft Java and Bedrock?

Java Edition

To track players in Minecraft, you must first make a Locator Map. Go into your Crafting Table and create a map using eight pieces of paper and a Compass. This will yield you one Empty Map, which you’ll then press use on while holding it in your hand to write it out.

Once you’ve got a map, you can choose to make it cover a larger area. You’ll be able to make it bigger four times, so select the size you’re most comfortable with. To make it bigger, you’ll need to access the Cartography Table and use one piece of paper and the map you wish to make bigger.

To make a copy of a map, you’ll need to craft another Empty Map in the Crafting Table and should not press use on it. Then, bring that Empty Map into the Cartography Table and place it in the bottom left slot. Place the map you wish to copy on the top slot, yielding you two maps that are exactly the same.

To make other players appear on the map, you’ll need to hand them over one copy of the map (if you wish to track more than one player, you need to make multiple copies and hand them out). The only way to make other players appear on the map is for them to carry the map in their inventory. You’ll be able to see where they’re moving if they fit within the block ranges of the map.

Bedrock Edition

In Bedrock Edition Minecraft, the only real distinction between how you track other players is the type of map you’re going to craft. In Bedrock Edition, you can also create a map without a compass. This map will show you your surroundings but will not show you your location so make sure you use a compass when crafting one to avoid confusion. Otherwise, the process will be the same for Java Edition.

Another notable difference is that if you wish to make the map show a larger area, you can also make it bigger on an Anvil or the Crafting Table, but you’ll need to use eight pieces of paper for every zoom-out you wish to perform. That’s why it is advised to do this in the Cartography table, where it’s cheaper and doesn’t cost you experience points (if doing it in an Anvil).

How do you find other players in Minecraft using commands?

Bedrock and Java Edition players have commands available to them, so the process of tracking other players using commands will be the same for Bedrock and Java Edition. You’ll first need to have cheats turned on in your world. If you don’t, you can change it on a server, or perhaps it’s best to create a new world.

You’ll need to give yourself a command block, so open your chat and type in /give @p minecraft:command_block. This will make a command block appear in your inventory. Place the command block down and open its menu by pressing use. The block type should be repeating, and you should set it to always active. Then, type in the command.’execute (the name of the player you wish to track) ~~~ setworldspawn ~~~‘. For Java Edition, the command is.’/execute at (the name of the player you wish to track) setworldspawn ~~~‘.

The following parts of the tutorial will be different for Java and Bedrock Edition players, so follow the guidelines that apply to you.

Bedrock Edition

The command will constantly show that the command is being executed, so the next thing to do is to turn off command block commands from appearing in your chat, but before you do that, you’ll need to set a ticking area. Go into your chat window and type in the command /tickingarea add circle ~~~ 4 (name the ticking area)’. This will prevent the command block from shutting down once you get too far. To remove the chat from constantly informing you where the world spawn now is, type in the command /gamerule commandblockoutput false

Java Edition

To ensure the command block is always running no matter how far you are, you need to force load the chunk so that it’s always loaded no matter how far you are. The command to do this is.’/forceload add ~~’. You should do this while standing on the command block to ensure the right chunk is being force-loaded.

What does it do

In Minecraft, a Compass will always show the world spawn, and with the guide, I just showed you, you’re setting that the world spawn be the player. So, after you’ve done everything listed in the guide, you need to acquire a Compass. Follow the red pointer, and it will lead you to the player. When you do this, make sure you place a bed and set a respawn point. Otherwise, you’ll always respawn where the player is at that time.

With this player-tracking method, you can only track one player at a time because it’s impossible to set more than one spawn point. To be able to track multiple players, you’ll need to use mods.

Mods for tracking players

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of making the compass track a player that’s set as the world spawn point, or perhaps you’re interested in a different method of tracking players, one of the mods that shows you the nearest player when you get a Compass is the Player Tracking Compass mod. This option is only available to Java Edition players who can download community-made mods.

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