Minecraft post-purchase ownership rights changes: Difference between revisions
RuefulSeraph (talk | contribs) m Keith said it would be a good idea to turn the "related concerns" section into a standard See also section. Turned ordered list into unordered list because that's the standard |
RuefulSeraph (talk | contribs) m Added categories. Added useful template calls. Moved inline citations to after punctuation as is standard |
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|Type=Terms of Service | |Type=Terms of Service | ||
|Description=A game first sold as a DRM-fee product, slowly became a license to a service. | |Description=A game first sold as a DRM-fee product, slowly became a license to a service. | ||
}}[[wikipedia:Minecraft#:~:text=The%20first%20public%20alpha%20build|Minecraft Alpha]] was published and sold by a small developer, advocating for consumer ownership, promising [[Digital Rights Management(DRM)|Digital Rights Management (DRM)]]-free software<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2011-09-23 |title=Minecraft - About the game |url=http://www.minecraft.net/store/game |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923112156/http://www.minecraft.net/store/game |archive-date=2011-09-23 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref> | }}[[wikipedia:Minecraft#:~:text=The%20first%20public%20alpha%20build|Minecraft Alpha]] was published and sold by a small developer, advocating for consumer ownership, promising [[Digital Rights Management(DRM)|Digital Rights Management (DRM)]]-free software<ref name=":2">,{{Cite web |date=2011-09-23 |title=Minecraft - About the game |url=http://www.minecraft.net/store/game |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923112156/http://www.minecraft.net/store/game |archive-date=2011-09-23 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref> free optional updates, and a free copy of the fully released version for every earlier buyer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2011-09-23 |title=Minecraft Terms of Use |url=http://www.minecraft.net/terms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923135753/http://www.minecraft.net/terms |archive-date=2011-09-23 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref> | ||
After years of changes in the title and content of the terms of use, all the previous buyers who failed to stop accepting updates in time, had to choose between forfeiting the ownership or losing the option to use the software offline.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Minecraft account migration |url=https://consumerrights.wiki/Minecraft_account_migration |url-status=live |access-date= |website=Consumer Rights Wiki}}</ref> The product became a license with DRM that can be terminated at anytime by [[Microsoft]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-30 |title=Microsoft Services Agreement |url=https://www.microsoft.com/servicesagreement |url-status= |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=microsoft.com}}</ref> | After years of changes in the title and content of the terms of use, all the previous buyers who failed to stop accepting updates in time, had to choose between forfeiting the ownership or losing the option to use the software offline.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Minecraft account migration |url=https://consumerrights.wiki/Minecraft_account_migration |url-status=live |access-date= |website=Consumer Rights Wiki}}</ref> The product became a license with DRM that can be terminated at anytime by [[Microsoft]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2024-09-30 |title=Microsoft Services Agreement |url=https://www.microsoft.com/servicesagreement |url-status= |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=microsoft.com}}</ref> | ||
The user side of legal contract to use Minecraft at the 2011 full release is called ''“Terms of use” (TOU)''<ref name=":0" /> | The user side of legal contract to use Minecraft at the 2011 full release is called ''“Terms of use” (TOU)'',<ref name=":0" /> later ''“End-user license agreement” (EULA)'',<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-18 |title=Minecraft EULA |url=https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/eula |url-status=live |website=minecraft.net}}</ref> and the changes it went through since 2011, can imply most of the existing [[:Category:Anti-Consumer Practices|anti-consumer practices]], not just consumer ownership rights erosion. | ||
Note: this article focuses on the original Minecraft | Note: this article focuses on the original Minecraft (Java Edition) and is not relevant to other versions of Minecraft. | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
=== | ===Mojang Studios=== | ||
{{Main|Mojang}} | |||
Minecraft is a sandbox game developed and published by Mojang Studios. Formally released on 18 November 2011 for PCs, following its initial public alpha release on 17 May 2009. The first sold version is later designated as Java edition. | Minecraft is a sandbox game developed and published by Mojang Studios. Formally released on 18 November 2011 for PCs, following its initial public alpha release on 17 May 2009. The first sold version is later designated as Java edition. | ||
The game was downloaded more than 100 million times before Microsoft purchased Mojang AB.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-15 |title=Minecraft sold: Microsoft buys Mojang for $2.5bn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426211234/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn |archive-date=2025-04-26 |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> | The game was downloaded more than 100 million times before Microsoft purchased Mojang AB.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-15 |title=Minecraft sold: Microsoft buys Mojang for $2.5bn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426211234/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn |archive-date=2025-04-26 |access-date=2025-08-18 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> | ||
=== | ===Microsoft=== | ||
{{Main|Microsoft}} | |||
<blockquote>In 2014, Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property were purchased by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion. | <blockquote>In 2014, Mojang and the Minecraft intellectual property were purchased by Microsoft for US$2.5 billion. | ||
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==Numbers of affected users== | ==Numbers of affected users== | ||
===Estimated minimum number of Minecraft Java edition copies sold before ownership changes in the TOU/EULA | ===Estimated minimum number of Minecraft Java edition copies sold before ownership changes in the TOU/EULA<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-24 |title=minecraft.net/stats |url=http://www.minecraft.net/stats |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724055823/http://www.minecraft.net/stats |archive-date=2012-07-24 |website=www.minecraft.net}}</ref>=== | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|+ | |+ | ||
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|- | |- | ||
|2013-06 | |2013-06 | ||
|~ 10. | |~ 10.2 million | ||
| | | | ||
|before launcher software first includes DRM | |before launcher software first includes DRM | ||
|- | |- | ||
|2013-12 | |2013-12 | ||
|~ | |~ 13 million | ||
| | | | ||
|while early customers were promised a full version, and before first mention of permission revocation right of the publisher | |while early customers were promised a full version, and before first mention of permission revocation right of the publisher | ||
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|- | |- | ||
|2020-10 | |2020-10 | ||
|~ 33 | |~ 33 million | ||
| | | | ||
|before EULA includes Microsoft Services Agreement | |before EULA includes Microsoft Services Agreement | ||
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==Mojang's response== | ==Mojang's response== | ||
Reasoning for the publishers right to retroactively change the ownership of the game is the same as for all other | <!-- Reasoning for the publishers right to retroactively change the ownership of the game is the same as for all other retroactive TOU/EULA changes: --> | ||
<!-- Provide quote here --> | |||
The publisher reserved these rights by stateing the reservation in the TOU/EULA: | The publisher reserved these rights by stateing the reservation in the TOU/EULA: | ||
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{{Ph-I-C}} | {{Ph-I-C}} | ||
[[Category:Microsoft]] | |||
[[Category:Minecraft]] | |||
[[Category:Mojang]] | |||