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
How about the families of the lawyers?
Why would they be removed if donating is still allowed?
You can guarantee that no laws are being broken? Would you mind backing up that statement?
I didn't think that any laws were being broken until I read the reddit post that mentioned tax evasion. Holy crap.
You are right, though, I read that quote and wondered about that as well. And they didn't even post in this thread too ahaha
You have to respect what the developer wants with the game. Only a greedy developer would think about making more money at this point. They have their reasons on why they do this and I'm sure it's a good one.
EA is the opposite of mojang. If mojang is EA, then they would have told server owners to share a cut of the revenue they earn in their servers. In this story, we are the EA because we thought about making profit off someone else's game and being unreasonable on what to do when nobody wants to donate to keep the server up. People are finding ways to regain control of their monetary stream by protesting against the EULA and simply not accept minecraft will not die as long as mojang provides us with ways to set up free servers no matter how small it may be to play with others. Your server will not die if people play it not because of the perks but because they genuinely like your server content and willing to donate to keep it up.
Kid: Mom can I donate to this server I will get lots of stuff in return!
Mom: Sure, sounds like it's worth it.
How it will work soon:
Kid: Mom can I donate $30 to this server?
Mom: I guess what will you get.
Kid: Nothing just it will keep up the server for a while.
Mom: Okay!
Doesn't work like that...
I love how you just made another statement like that without actually backing it up with facts and citations. "It is in fact" doesn't really count. Am I supposed to take your word for this now?
But yes, I do see your point there, and I wondered about that myself, in fact. Yours is indeed a much much smaller case, anyway. I posted that, not really in total agreement with it, but just to see what people had to say about this person's comment.
whatever there will always be multiplayer games, no money needed.. its a shame that greedy young kids have ruined this game, for everyone!
I am not oblivious to that which is why I am saying minecraft will have less massive public servers and more smaller and private ones. It is still minecraft minus the business. Nothing wrong with that unless you are a server owner wanting to make money or a player spoiled by being special in the server with the perks.
I assume by this you are referring to servers such as Vortex. They offer protection 5 armor to donators. Listen guys, it may not seem fair, but if you don't like it, don't play. You aren't forced to play on servers, so why is it such a big deal you want them to shut down? I don't understand your liking of servers shutting down that people enjoy getting perks on. I don't have a donation rank on Vortex, where protection 5 is only available to donators, but I have ways of getting it.
You know another thing? I've been to servers where people who have donated get overpowered things such as /fly, /fireball, and more. Guess what? I left and forgot about the server, because I am free to do as I please as a non-donator.
ShadowLinx, check out OpTicCraft.tv. Yes, they violate all of these rules, but no, it is not overpowered. If you think it is, you need to rethink what that means. Well over 150 players have donated out of a good 300 players on most of the time, but it keeps the server up and everyone is happy. Nobody has ever complained that donator ranks are overpowered. Everyone enjoys them. Mojang has now taken that joy away. Also, factions servers do cause more people to buy the game. I know hundreds of people with 30 alternate accounts, and yes, they are legit accounts. Plus you get your friends to play.
No matter which one will happen, it's still minecraft. That's all what matters here. As long as mojang continues to update minecraft, give us ways to customize it through mods and allows us to set a free server, no monetization changes will kill it.
Who said you need to charge upon entry? Why not use priority access model where paying members have the ability to join full servers by filling reserved slots or kicking out a non paying member? It's hilarious how people are conspiring about Mojang being greedy when they can't see the greed of server owners luring and selling digital power to make tons of money out of a game they just bought for $27 or even for nothing if we are talking about cracked servers.
I respect you so much right now. This is full of good points.
EULAs by definition define a contractual agreement between the user and the copyright owners of the software. Unless there is explicit requirements in the EULA that violate laws, it is binding. If anything in the EULA stands contrary to any laws, it is merely null and void, not illegal. That's how I know. At least that's how copyright law works in the United States, I don't live in Europe so I cannot speak for the laws there. Nor do I really care about laws there.
Agree 100%, especially about the server owners. What I see are a few elite server owners who are crying because their money making schemes are evaporating.