Minecraft EULA and Commercial Usage Guidelines Updates

Hello dear readers, players, and fellow block enthusiasts! We’ve made a round of changes to some important documents and would like to take the opportunity to clarify these changes.

First, we’ve updated our End User License Agreement (EULA). Our goals for the new EULA were to generally update the language and voice, remove Mojang Accounts terms as we’ve migrated to Microsoft Accounts, reference some recent Minecraft offerings and services, more clearly integrate our community standards, and remove specific things that are already covered in the Microsoft Services Agreement. We hope you’ll find the new Minecraft EULA both clearer and simpler!

Second, we updated our Commercial Usage Guidelines and Brand and Asset Guidelines. If you’re already familiar with these guidelines, nothing in the updated versions should be too surprising. Most of our updates were to simplify and consolidate several historical documents. We recognized these documents have had some duplication with each other, as well as some repetition with the EULA. Therefore, we have decided to merge the different guidelines into a brand-new Minecraft Usage Guidelines.

In the new guidelines, we reordered sections to make them more readable and added new sections on music, in-person events, and technology that creates artificial scarcity. We also have separated out the common elements to show more clearly what applies to everyone versus specific sections.

Here is a summary of some of the more impactful changes in the Minecraft Usage Guidelines:

Updated

• We have added a purpose section to ensure our readers understand the overall scope of the guidelines.  We have also clarified the definitions of key elements such as our name, brand, and assets.
• A new “All Uses” section and “Essential guidelines” section has been created to provide the high-level guidelines that apply to all uses contemplated in the guidelines. These are largely similar to what we previously had in the Brand Guidelines.

Additions

• A new section that outlines the use of music with Minecraft content. We know every video and event is better with music. We have called out specific requirements to ensure that you are using music appropriately on our platform.
• An expanded events section. We now have guidelines that provide specific requirements for in-person events, as well as some additions for live in-game events. Our intent with these sections is to differentiate between large scale commercial events versus community gatherings, the latter of which we encourage and do not intend to restrict.
• Since our initial blog post on the use of Block Chain Technologies, we have continued to look at NFT and blockchain technology.  While the new guidelines do not have a section that covers this specifically, we have expanded them regarding access to servers, scarcity, and how you should and should not think about crypto as it relates to Minecraft. Instead of focusing on a specific technology, we are focusing on fairness and the experience our players should have.

You can read the full guidelines here.