‘This Is Borderline Evil’ – Minecraft Creator Speaks Out Against ESA Calling Private Servers ‘Illegal’

Minecraft creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson has spoken out against the Electronic Software Association for claiming that the game’s private servers are “illegal.”

Earlier this month, the California State Senate held a hearing regarding Stop Killing Games-backed bill known as the Protect Our Games Act. The bill aims to obligate publishers to find ways to make games playable, even after ending support for them. That would mean that live-service games would need to have some kind of functionality after servers are shut down. The subject of private servers was brought up as a feasible solution and cited Minecraft as a prominent example, to which ESA’s VP of State Government Affairs, Jennifer Gibbons, countered with a head-scratching argument.

Gibbons claimed that these private servers are actually “illegal”, a form of “piracy”, and, in the case of Minecraft, are unsanctioned by Microsoft. Gibbons went as far as comparing them to a gaming “black market.” None of this is true in the case of Minecraft, as its official website gives players the tools to create their own private servers and even boasts a browser filled with custom servers. It’s actively encouraged by Mojang.