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
I'm starting to think they are trying to kill off servers so that they can make some quick cash from Realms, even though their attempts will most likely be futile.
Anyone who expects to wake up on the morning of August 1, 2014 and see every single non-compliant server shop gone is just plain ignorant. They're not going anywhere.
Its funny how mojang is trying to prevent the whole pay2win thing from going on but at the same time they are making servers
pay2play.
Either way Mojang is wasting their time.
Besides, do you think that Mojang is going to sue every server owner who doesn't comply?
This whole thing isn't going to work.
Banned plugins? Then why are they working for the API that is supposed to make the life of modders easier? They know the direction of their game and it so happen it is the opposite for most people who thinks minecraft is theirs. Huge public servers dying off? Maybe. Small private servers dying off? Never.
Finally someone who understands.
It's not a matter of having fun with smaller numbers of people, on minigame servers it becomes boring to play with the same people over and over again. Large servers, like Hypixel who has thousands of slots, allow you to play with many different people, meet new friends, and have a different experience each game. You cannot do that with servers limited to 100 people, end of story.
Companies have to take a hard line when it comes to issues like this in their EULA's, because otherwise the line between what is exploitation and not becomes difficult to draw.
If you do choose to continue selling advantages, just know that you are skating on thin ice. Hopefully they will continue to take things on a case by case basis and only go after the worst offenders.
Regardless of my opinion on the issue, I have a feeling you are dead on. I think part of this is to protect themselves from the *expletive deleted* server ops out there who are doing the whole "Buy a Diamond Sword of awesomeness for $500US." But they can't really appear to play favorites. While I think what they are doing is good and appropriate, the realist in me also knows that most likely they will be lax in enforcing this on servers that don't cross the line from small benefits for money to Zynga-esque *expletive deleted*hattery.
Does anyone know what EA is? A pay to win company. What do you get in a server if you pay? Win! Diamonds everywhere! Advantages!
Extra awesome characters! If you are not, guess what? Prepare to work your **** off to get it! That is EA. Mojang is like the Anti - EA.
I understand that yes - people need money - but I want to direct everyone's attension to good 'ole Team Fortress 2.
Hats. ♥♥♥♥ing hats everywhere. Cosmetic. They've been doing this for a long time.
*Offtopic- you win 2 internets for your avatar
This is the biggest hit to server owners and I will be amazed if 10% of the current servers manage to live thought these changes.
You know Mojang? Some people make a lving out of their servers.
Let me tell you, as a co-owner, people won't just donate for nothing but colours to keep the server alive.
My two cents are this: People from the Minecraft Community, vanilla or modded, open your eyes and realize that servers won't live enough for you to play if people do not feel encouraged to donate. Stand up, make polite complains and make sure Mojang listens to us, cause a lot of the gaming industry lives on that preset: Sometimes, with enough help, companies DO listen at their communities.
I'll be giving the news to my server members and staff sadly while I hope against hope that this EULA changes are removed or changed in the near future.
If not, GG Mojang. It was nice knowing ya while you cared about us.
Until custom hat blocks are possible, Hats are not gonna be too popular.
If they just let people have rank perks like kits and stuff, but demanded owners to emphasize more on how they can get support for purchases from them. This wouldn't of been an issue of servers would of just did that.
1) Let's say you have /kit starter available for everyone. When they use it, it has a cooldown before they are able to use it again. Are you able to charge hard currency in order for them to bypass the cooldown time?
2) Pixelmon. Does this make it where if they wish to sell a legendary "Pixelmon" for hard currency on their website, are they allowed to do so as long as the "Pixelmon" has a CHANCE of spawning in the wild on the server?
Not at all. This is like the US government shutting down Napster. They knew it was illegal, but then all of a sudden, they were shut down because the government started enforcing the law. What happened next? Apple started selling music online, and now there hundreds of great options to legally get you music online.