# How to Change Max Players on Your Minecraft Bedrock Server (/docs/minecraft-bedrock/player-slots)



import { Tab, Tabs } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/tabs';
import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';

The default Bedrock Dedicated Server allows **10 simultaneous players**. You can raise or lower this depending on your server plan.

Change the Player Limit [#change-the-player-limit]

<Tabs items={['Via Startup (Recommended)', 'Via server.properties']}>
  <Tab value="Via Startup (Recommended)">
    <Steps>
      <Step>
        Open Startup [#open-startup]

        In the [XGamingServer Panel](https://panel.xgamingserver.com), click **Startup** in the sidebar.

        {/* Screenshot needed: Startup tab with max-players variable */}
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Change the value [#change-the-value]

        Find the **Max Players** variable and set it to your desired number.
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Restart [#restart]

        Go to **Console** and restart the server for the change to take effect.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab value="Via server.properties">
    <Steps>
      <Step>
        Open the file [#open-the-file]

        Click **Files** in the sidebar and open `server.properties`.
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Edit max-players [#edit-max-players]

        Find and change:

        ```properties
        max-players=20
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step>
        Save and restart [#save-and-restart]

        Click **Save Content** and restart from **Console**.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Letting Admins Join a Full Server [#letting-admins-join-a-full-server]

If your server is full, admins can still join if they have `ignoresPlayerLimit` set to `true` in `allowlist.json`:

```json
[
  {
    "ignoresPlayerLimit": true,
    "name": "AdminPlayer",
    "xuid": "2535416790845590"
  }
]
```

This requires `allow-list=true` in server.properties. See the [whitelist guide](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/whitelist) for details.

Performance Considerations [#performance-considerations]

More players means more chunks loaded, more entities tracked, and more network traffic. If you notice lag at higher player counts:

* Lower `view-distance` (try `10–12` instead of `32`)
* Lower `tick-distance` to `4`
* Use `compression-algorithm=snappy` for faster network compression

See the [server.properties guide](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/server-properties) for full performance tuning options.

Related Guides [#related-guides]

* [Server Properties Reference](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/server-properties)
* [Whitelist Players](/docs/minecraft-bedrock/whitelist)