With the recent announcement about changes to the EULA (and in particular, how they will affect multiplayer servers), many questions have arisen. Mojang has looked over numerous discussions by you, the community, and has released a new Q&A announcement, to address some of the most frequently-asked questions to come from the announcement. More many come in the future, but for now, check out these clarifying answers, direct from Mojang!
Quote fromAre any servers exempt to the EULA?
No. It affects all servers and players equally.
Do server hosts have a grace period to implement changes to their servers?
Yes. All servers must comply with the EULA by August 1st, 2014.
Can I charge for access to my server?
Yes. How players join a server is up to you. Single entrance fees or subscriptions are both allowed.
How often am I allowed to charge players to access my server?
You can charge players as regularly as you like. You can even charge for timed access if you think it’s the best way to monetise your server.
What counts as a server? Are proxies one big server, or lots of smaller ones?
A server is something a user connects to with their client. The user is on a different server when they leave the one they are connected to and manually join another (in the multiplayer screen). Virtual servers and proxies make no difference here, to the client it’s the same server.
Can I charge access to a specific part of my server, such as a minigame or world?
No, you cannot charge for any part of a server other than the initial access. Once on a server, all players must have the same gameplay privileges. You may make a different server for the user to connect to which features “premium” areas, and charge for access to that server instead, but the benefits cannot carry over to your other servers.
So can I charge for my minigames or mods?
Yes, so long as all players on your server have access to the features.
Can I offer a limited trial period for all users?
Yes. So long as both trial and paying users have access to the same gameplay features during the trial, we’re cool with it.
Can I give paying users priority access to my server?
Yes, but you cannot restrict gameplay elements to specific users.
Does the EULA still apply for access to user-created mods?
Yes. It doesn’t make a difference who made the mods, or how they were implemented onto your server. All mods require Minecraft to run. You are not allowed to charge for Minecraft features which affect gameplay.
What do you mean by “hard currency” compared to “soft currency”?
Hard currency is real money or anything that can be converted into real money, including Bitcoins. Soft currency is available in-game only, and has no real-world value. The restriction in the EULA only apply to hard currency; you may unlock anything with soft currency.
Can I sell “kits” for hard currency if I provide a balanced alternative for non-paying users?
If the “kits” contain gameplay-affecting features they are not allowed. Gameplay balance is not relevant to the EULA. If the items included in the kit are purely cosmetic, you can charge real money/hard currency.
My server features a currency that you can earn through gameplay, but which can also be bought for hard currency. Is that OK?
Soft currencies that are solely earned in-game are fine, but you cannot sell in-game currency for hard currency. Hybrid/dual currency systems are not allowed.
Can I sell boosters, which provide faster gold gain, XP, or other in-game resources for hard currency?
No – boosters, item generators, and all other features that affect gameplay are not allowed.
So how do I make money from cosmetic items?
You can sell cosmetic items for hard currency directly or allow players to fund an “account” specific to your server. It’s up to the host of the server to decide how this works. Remember that capes are the exception to this rule – you are not allowed to give them away or sell them.
Can I sell ranks on my server?
Yes. Ranks are allowed so long as any perks gained are cosmetic. Coloured names, prefixes, special hats etc. are fine.
Can users purchase something that affects the entire server, such as a temporary XP boost?
Yes, but everyone who can access the server must be able to use the feature, regardless of whether they purchased it or not.
Can I award all players with a gameplay feature if I reach a donation goal within a time period?
Yes, so long as all players receive the benefit regardless of who donated then it’s OK.
Can I charge for access to server commands?
Yes, as long as their effects are purely cosmetic. Commands that affect gameplay, such as a command to fly, cannot be sold for hard currency.
If all players get access to a feature such as a plot of land, can I sell access to multiple plots for hard currency?
No – that would be a gameplay affecting change, so it’s not allowed. All player who access your server must have the same gameplay features offered to them. The same rule applies to items, such as potions.
How should servers deal with users who have already spent hard currency on features that affect gameplay?
Users may keep the perks they have paid for, on the condition that the same perks are available to other players on the server (directly, or purchasable using soft currency). It’s up to the server host to decide how to compensate users for previous transactions.
Do you have a question you would like answered about the EULA? Let's discuss it in the comments!
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EXTREMELY FRIENDLY REMINDER OF FRIENDLINESS AND HAPPY-JOY FEELINGS
Please keep all discussion as civil as possible! This is a very hot topic, and we understand that there are very strong feelings about the EULA. That's okay! Open discussion is a GOOD thing! However, please avoid the following:
- Name-calling
- Encouraging (or claiming to engage in) EULA violations
Show me where it says that players can not pick different non-donor kits in a pool of different kits? So what? Mojang is essentially banning servers that have different combat classes that are not donor?
show me the fine print.
I miss when donations meant you were doing something to be helpful without expecting anything in return other than the satisfaction that you were doing something good. Donating with the expectation of goods in return is like you donating your money to Publix in return for a basket of groceries in return.
THERE IS NO FINE PRINT. They said VERY CLEARLY that you cannot sell kits that alter the gameplay, and that gameplay balancing was not a factor in the EULA. That means that you can sell "kits" that alter cosmetic appearance for real money, but you CANT sell "kits" that change the gameplay for real money. There's no need for fine print because, English. It's all there plain and simple, I can't explain it any clearer without pie charts and bar graphs.
Edit: What the heck, I decided to make a pie chart to better illustrate this point:
via Imgflip Pie Chart Maker
I WAS NEVER TALKING ABOUT DONOR KITS.
I WAS TALKING ABOUT KITS THAT WERE FREE INGAME. YOU MADE IT SOUND LIKE MOJANG RESTRICTED PEOPLE FROM CHOOSING THEIR OWN KIT FROM A CHOICE OF FREE KITS. SORRY FOR THE MISUNDERSTANDING BUT YOU MADE IT SOUND LIKE MOJANG WENT ALL NAZI.
Are you saying in the context of pay to win or the current EULA? Mojang said they don't want to profit from p2w.
Whoa. Whoa. Calm down. Please. Yes, he misunderstood. We all noticed. There is nothing in the EULA preventing multiple free kits.
Sorry, just thought he couldn't see it so I enhanced the font
If you're against P2W then I don't see how you can all this draconian? Unless you're implying you're against P2W but you see it as necessary? O.o
I mean if this was going to happen and replace the happy go lucky everyone must be equal EULA (which most likely will not) Something like $2.50 in fees a month for every 15 people (based on average users online at one time in a month)
The servility of P2W is subjective, but still by definition that iron kit is p2w, even if you don't see it as p2w. It may also be extremely OP in different situations.
I mean honestly if you want to do this then people can just make a second server solely for premium people.
But don't you think they are over dramatizing on their definition of pay to win is? It would be like assuming all people who have unprotected sex will get AIDS.
You weren't talking about free kits and Mojang could give a crap about free kits. The whole discussion is about selling kits for real money. And you apparently didn't read anything that I actually said if you thought I was talking about free kits.
the advantage is the AIDS.
Well then we're both at fault, just me more than you, sorry.
IMHO any items sold for real money that enhance your chance to win over someone who didn't pay is P2W. Analogy: You go to a casino to play Blackjack. Casino sells a "kit" that gives you a 25% better chance of getting a face card when you draw. P2W.
Because at some point, things stop being anti-pay-to-win and start becoming limiting. The problem is that people here disagree where that line is. Some see the line as far back, and they back the whole EULA, and others see it as far forward, and disagree with it completely.
As I've explained, that is far too costly to be a proper solution for most of the issues. It's also rather a waste of server space.