Minecraft post-purchase ownership rights changes: Difference between revisions
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{{IncidentCargo | {{IncidentCargo | ||
|Company=Mojang, Microsoft | |Company=Mojang, Microsoft | ||
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|ArticleType=Product | |ArticleType=Product | ||
|Type=Terms of Service | |Type=Terms of Service | ||
|Description=A game first sold | |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>, 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> | }}[[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 | 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" /> ,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> | 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: Java edition, and is not relevant to other versions of Minecraft. | |||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
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*Minecraft’s TOU/EULA was published as a page on the publisher’s game store site and as a text file in the game directory. | *Minecraft’s TOU/EULA was published as a page on the publisher’s game store site and as a text file in the game directory. | ||
*Earlier verifiable versions of the TOU/ EULA are only available on archived versions of Minecraft’s website, but there were | *Earlier verifiable versions of the TOU/ EULA are only available on archived versions of Minecraft’s website, but there were times when multiple TOU/EULA versions were available simultaneously. Exact dates of changes may vary, and the sources should respectively be the earliest or the latest found versions. These changes were mainly announced to the customer upon downloading and installing an update. | ||
*The .txt file changes containing the TOU/EULA, that were downloaded and agreed to by the users with software updates, mostly exist in non-verifiable user directories. | *The .txt file changes containing the TOU/EULA, that were downloaded and agreed to by the users with software updates, mostly exist in non-verifiable user directories. | ||
*Minecraft has many versions, editions, websites, shops, on multiple platforms, with two account migrations, with corresponding terms. All changing throughout the years, as in content, in place of publication, and in the usage of dating or version history | *Minecraft has many versions, editions, websites, shops, on multiple platforms, with two account migrations, with corresponding terms. All changing throughout the years, as in content, in place of publication, and in the usage of dating or version history | ||
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The first public version was Java Edition Classic 0.0.11a, an unfinished single player offline usable game, with early codes for multiplayer, and with a separate launcher that was capable of updating the game and the launcher itself. | The first public version was Java Edition Classic 0.0.11a, an unfinished single player offline usable game, with early codes for multiplayer, and with a separate launcher that was capable of updating the game and the launcher itself. | ||
While under development and before the creation of the TOU, mojang had published its term in support.jsp<ref name=":4" /> or copyright.jsp.<ref name=":3" /> | |||
== Timeline of ownership-relevant TOU/EULA changes (2011-2025) == | |||
===2011-09-23 Ownership terms in full release of Minecraft 1.0.0=== | ===2011-09-23 Ownership terms in full release of Minecraft 1.0.0=== | ||
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====TOU for Minecraft 1.0.0<ref name=":0" />==== | ====TOU for Minecraft 1.0.0<ref name=":0" />==== | ||
The game is in development, but the developer promises free copy of the full game - only before 2013-12<blockquote>What You Get For Purchasing When you purchase Minecraft you do so as is, be it in the early stages of development or already fully released. Subsequent updates are only an added bonus and not a guarantee, as icing on a cake. Purchases during the development of the game are discounted and include the full game upon release.</blockquote>The buyer of the software can use the software<blockquote>USING OUR GAME | The game is in development, but the developer promises free copy of the full game - only before 2013-12<blockquote>What You Get For Purchasing When you purchase Minecraft you do so as is, be it in the early stages of development or already fully released. Subsequent updates are only an added bonus and not a guarantee, as icing on a cake. Purchases during the development of the game are discounted and include the full game upon release.</blockquote>The buyer of the software can use the software<blockquote>USING OUR GAME | ||
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<blockquote>We may change this EULA from time to time, if we have reason to, such as changes to our games, our practices, or our legal obligation. But those changes will be effective only to the extent that they can legally apply. In that case we'll inform you of the change before it takes effect, either by posting a notice on our website or by other reasonable means. We're not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the game and we therefore need to put a lid on it.</blockquote> | <blockquote>We may change this EULA from time to time, if we have reason to, such as changes to our games, our practices, or our legal obligation. But those changes will be effective only to the extent that they can legally apply. In that case we'll inform you of the change before it takes effect, either by posting a notice on our website or by other reasonable means. We're not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the game and we therefore need to put a lid on it.</blockquote> | ||
== | ==Numbers of affected users== | ||
===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>=== | ===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>=== | ||
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== Mojang's response == | |||
Reasoning for the publishers right to retroactively change the ownership of the game is the same as for all other retroactiive TOU/EULA changes: | Reasoning for the publishers right to retroactively change the ownership of the game is the same as for all other retroactiive TOU/EULA changes: | ||
The publisher reserved | The publisher reserved these rights by stateing the reservation in the TOU/EULA: | ||
in the first terms:<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>“We reserve the right to change this agreement at any time with or without notice, with immediate and/or retroactive effect.”</blockquote>since 2013-08-27:<ref name=":7" /><blockquote>“The permission we give you to use and play our Game can be revoked if you break the terms of this EULA. “ </blockquote>2013-12 - 2023-18:<ref name=":7" /><blockquote>“We may also change this EULA from time to time but those changes will only be effective to the extent that they can legally apply. For example if you only use the Game in single player mode and don‘t use the updates we make available then the old EULA applies but if you do use the updates or use parts of the game that rely on our providing ongoing online services then the new EULA will apply. In that case we may not be able to / don‘t need to tell you about the changes for them to have effect so you should check back here from time to time so you are aware of any changes to the EULA. We‘re not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the Game and we therefore need to put a lid on it. </blockquote> | in the first terms:<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>“We reserve the right to change this agreement at any time with or without notice, with immediate and/or retroactive effect.”</blockquote>since 2013-08-27:<ref name=":7" /><blockquote>“The permission we give you to use and play our Game can be revoked if you break the terms of this EULA. “ </blockquote>2013-12 - 2023-18:<ref name=":7" /><blockquote>“We may also change this EULA from time to time but those changes will only be effective to the extent that they can legally apply. For example if you only use the Game in single player mode and don‘t use the updates we make available then the old EULA applies but if you do use the updates or use parts of the game that rely on our providing ongoing online services then the new EULA will apply. In that case we may not be able to / don‘t need to tell you about the changes for them to have effect so you should check back here from time to time so you are aware of any changes to the EULA. We‘re not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the Game and we therefore need to put a lid on it. </blockquote> | ||
===Possible related consumer rights concerns regarding Minecraft TOU/EULA:=== | ===Possible related consumer rights concerns regarding Minecraft TOU/EULA:=== | ||
#Block of access by mandatory account migration - [[Minecraft account migration]] | #Block of access by mandatory account migration - [[Minecraft account migration]] | ||
#[[Minecraft enforceing undisclosed server EULA terms|Hidden rules regarding private servers]] - [[Shutting down of community-run Minecraft servers by Mojang]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-03 |title=Suing Minecraft Because They Broke The Law & Pissed Me Off |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5RvoPQZQeM |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-16 |title=We’re Suing Minecraft in a Class Action Lawsuit |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UF_4gZclI |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref> | #[[Minecraft enforceing undisclosed server EULA terms|Hidden rules regarding private servers]] - [[Shutting down of community-run Minecraft servers by Mojang]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-03 |title=Suing Minecraft Because They Broke The Law & Pissed Me Off |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5RvoPQZQeM |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-16 |title=We’re Suing Minecraft in a Class Action Lawsuit |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_UF_4gZclI |url-status=live |website=youtube.com}}</ref> | ||