Minecraft just added peer-to-peer multiplayer. Here's what it actually means for friend groups.

On May 12, Mojang dropped Snapshot 7 of Minecraft 26.2 and quietly added something modded players have wanted for fifteen years: a Friends List and peer-to-peer multiplayer.

It's a big deal. Also a slightly confusing deal. So here's the breakdown - what was actually announced, where it helps, where it doesn't, and what it means if you're playing modded Minecraft with friends.

What was actually announced

Two features arrived in the snapshot:

A Friends List inside Minecraft. You can finally add friends by their Minecraft profile name, see who's online, and see what world they're in. It's the kind of basic feature Bedrock has had forever and Java has somehow lived without.

Peer-to-peer multiplayer for single-player worlds. The old "Open to LAN" option is gone. In its place: a Multiplayer Options screen with three settings - Off, Local, and Online. "Online" is the new thing. It lets you open your single-player world to friends anywhere in the world, no server required, no IP addresses, no port forwarding.

Both features are coming with the Chaos Cubed update later in Q2 2026. You can read Mojang's official snapshot announcement for the full patch notes.

What "peer-to-peer" actually means

This part is where most people get confused. P2P doesn't mean Mojang is hosting your world. It means your computer becomes the host while you're playing. Your friends connect to you through Minecraft's matchmaking system.

So when you close the game, the world closes. When your internet has a bad day, everyone has a bad day. When your PC is struggling to run a heavy modpack, your friends are struggling too.

It's free, it's easy, and for the right use case it's brilliant.

Where P2P is genuinely great

Don't let any hosting company tell you otherwise - this is good news for Minecraft. Specifically, it's great if:

• You're playing vanilla or lightly modded with friends casually
• You all play at the same time - Friday nights, weekend sessions, that kind of thing
• You want spontaneous play without setting anything up
• You've been using Essential Mod just for the friend-join feature - that's now built into the game
• The host's PC is strong enough to run both their game and act as the server for everyone

For casual groups, this might be all you need. Honestly.

Where P2P falls apart

Here's where it gets less rosy. P2P has real limits that don't go away no matter how polished the implementation is:

The host has to be online. If your friends play across time zones, or if some people want to log in mid-week when the host is at school, the world simply isn't there. P2P worlds only exist while the host is playing.

Modded support is still unclear. Mojang hasn't confirmed whether the new P2P system supports modded worlds. Even if it does, every player needs identical mods and versions installed locally. One mismatched version and someone can't join.

The host's hardware matters a lot. Running a heavy modpack like Cobbleverse, ATM9, or Better Minecraft already eats 6-8GB of RAM on your machine. Now add three or four friends connecting to it. Most gaming PCs aren't built for that load on top of running the game itself.

The host's internet matters even more. Home internet upload speeds are usually a fraction of download speeds. With four friends connected, you're streaming game state to all of them simultaneously from a connection never designed for it.

Worlds aren't persistent. Your friend wants to log in and farm for an hour while you're at dinner? Too bad. The world only exists when the host is in it. For serious modded play where people grind, build, and explore independently - this is a dealbreaker.

What this means for managed hosting

Honestly? It depends on your group.

If you're a casual vanilla group playing weekends together, P2P is probably going to be enough now. That's good. You shouldn't be paying for dedicated hosting if you don't need it.

If you're a modded friend group with people in different time zones, a heavy modpack, a world that matters, and players who want to log in whenever - none of that changes. A real server still runs while everyone sleeps. It handles the modpack's resource needs on dedicated hardware. It doesn't care if one person's PC is struggling.

P2P is a great option for casual play. Dedicated managed modded hosting is still the right call for serious modded play. Both can be true.

Where Piggo fits

I built Piggo specifically for the second group - friend groups whose modded worlds matter to them. Not casual one-off sessions, but ongoing modded campaigns with persistent worlds, heavy modpacks, and people who want to play whenever they're free.

If that's not your group, honestly, save your money and try the P2P system when it launches. It's going to be great for what it's designed for.

If it is your group, what we do at Piggo doesn't change because of this update. Managed modded hosting, real hardware, instant modpack installs, and me personally handling support. Same thing tomorrow as today.

The bigger picture

This is a win for Minecraft. It lowers the barrier for new players to play together. It probably grows the modded community over time as more friend groups give modding a try without needing to figure out hosting first. That's good for everyone, including hosts.

The job of managed hosting was never to be the only way friends could play together. It was to be the right way for groups who needed real infrastructure. That's still true. It's just clearer now what the line is.

— Maks
Founder, Piggo