The short answer: No, running a Minecraft server is not illegal. Mojang gives away the official server software, and servers operate under Minecraft’s EULA and its server rules. The “illegal” claim was a lobbyist’s argument in a legislative hearing, not a law or a court ruling.
- Jun 292026 California Senate hearing
- AB 1921The Protect Our Games Act
- FailedThe bill didn’t pass committee
What happened
California’s Protect Our Games Act (AB 1921), backed by the Stop Killing Games campaign, would require publishers to leave players a way to keep playing games after official online support ends. At a June 29, 2026 Senate committee hearing, private servers came up as one practical way to do that. Jennifer Gibbons, the Entertainment Software Association’s vice president of state government affairs, argued against the bill and said private servers for games like Minecraft and Call of Duty are illegal and that the industry considers them piracy. The ESA later issued an updated statement that softened its original wording.
The bill failed to pass the committee. Stop Killing Games blamed the ESA’s testimony and accused it of misleading lawmakers who don’t follow gaming closely.
Notch’s response
Minecraft’s original creator, Markus “Notch” Persson, reacted on X on July 1. He called the move incredibly scummy and said seeing Minecraft cited against players felt “borderline evil.” Notch sold Mojang to Microsoft in 2014 and has no role in the game today.
Fact check: are Minecraft servers legal?
| Claim | Reality |
|---|---|
| Private Minecraft servers are illegal | False for normal servers. Mojang distributes server software for free and documents how to run it. |
| Running a server is piracy | Not for servers that require legitimate accounts. Cracked (offline-mode) servers that let people play without buying the game are another matter. |
| Servers can do anything they want | No. They must follow the Minecraft EULA and Usage Guidelines, including the rules on what can be sold. |
| This hearing changed the law | No. Nothing in the hearing changed any law, and the bill failed. |
Why it matters
For Java players, the community server scene is Minecraft: Hypixel, SMPs, minigame networks and your friends’ survival world. The ESA represents publishers, including Microsoft, so players were alarmed to hear its lobbyist describe those servers as piracy. Supporters of the ESA’s position say publishers need control over unofficial servers for safety and intellectual property reasons. Critics say the claim was simply wrong for Minecraft and was used to scare lawmakers off a consumer-protection bill. Either way, nothing about running or joining a legitimate Minecraft server has changed.
