Minecraft LAN gameplay paywall

In early 2025, some Xbox players discovered that Minecraft’s local LAN multiplayer, previously available to anyone who had purchased the game, now required an active Xbox Game Pass subscription.

Background

Minecraft, developed by Mojang Studios and acquired by Microsoft in 2014, is one of the best-selling video games of all time. Since its release on Xbox consoles, the game has offered several multiplayer options, including online play through Xbox Live and offline Local Area Network (LAN) play.

LAN functionality has historically been considered a core feature, allowing households to play together without requiring additional subscriptions. On Xbox platforms, Minecraft is sold as a standalone title but is also included with Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription service that grants access to a rotating library of games.

This overlap between ownership and subscription access has previously caused confusion, but until 2025, LAN play remained accessible to all players who had purchased the game outright.

[Incident]

In February 2025, Xbox players began reporting that Minecraft’s Local Area Network (LAN) multiplayer no longer functioned unless the account owner held an active Xbox Game Pass subscription. Previously, LAN sessions were available to all players who had purchased the game, independent of subscription status.

Reports surfaced on Mojang’s official bug tracker and in Xbox support forums, where users documented being unable to connect to local games without Game Pass. Despite community workarounds, the issue spread widely after a game update, raising concerns about the removal of a long-standing feature.

[Company]'s response

Mojang support staff responded to bug tracker reports by stating that LAN was not intentionally gated behind Game Pass and attributed the issue to a “technical problem.” As of March 2025, no official patch or clarification has been issued that restores universal LAN access on Xbox, leaving many players without a clear resolution.

Consumer response

The change triggered strong backlash across forums. Many players argued that removing or restricting a feature that was present at the time of purchase amounted to deceptive practices and a breach of consumer trust.

Some parents noted frustration that siblings in the same household could no longer play together without paying a recurring fee. Others drew parallels to broader industry trends of subscription lock-ins and feature erosion, citing concerns that purchased digital products were increasingly unreliable over time.