Contesting Mojang&#39;s forced migration
<p>Mojang is forcing their users to migrate their account with their Microsoft account. Personally, I don't agree with this migration and especially the way they are forcing it on their users: if you don't migrate, you will lose access to the game.</p>
<p>I have my reasons for not wanting to cooperate. For example, some people think it will even make the game <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/kd7fkl/the_javatomicrosoft_account_migration_is_going_to/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">less secure</a>. In any case, I demand to either have access to the game or to get a refund. The latter is not going to happen as long as it's up to Mojang, since my refund request does not meet their refund requirements.</p>
<p>Is there anything I can do about this? Can I force them to issue a refund?</p>

<p>You agreed to terms of use when you started using Mojang, posted at <a href="https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/terms" rel="noreferrer">https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/terms</a>  and including:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We may change these Account Terms from time to time, if we have reason
to. For example, there might be changes to our games, our practices,
or our legal obligations. We'll inform you of the change before it
takes effect, either by posting a notice on our Website or some other
reasonable way. If you use the Website or your account after the
change, that means you agree to the changes. If you do not agree to
the changes, stop using the Website. The changes will apply to your
use of the Website when you next use it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That means Microsoft and Mojang can make a decisions like moving/merging your account without asking your permission. Website and product Terms of Service agreements are legally binding contracts, and you agreed to them when you started using their services.</p>
<p>And refunds are part of the terms:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>RETURNS, REFUNDS AND CANCELLATION
You or we may cancel your Mojang Account at any time or access to
Minecraft.net, Mojang.com or any Mojang game titles using a Microsoft
Account. When your account terminates or access is terminated, your rights
under these Account Terms terminate.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They can cancel your account at any time and not give you a refund.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Can I force them to issue a refund?</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can attempt to make your case in court, but a) you agreed to the contract, and 2) Microsoft has more money for lawyers than you do.</p>

<p>It depends on your contract. <a href="https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/terms" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Here is the contract</a> that I would have if I signed up right now. First, nothing in the contract indicates that you can remain MS-Free, indeed they say</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Note that some players access mojang.com and minecraft.net using a
Microsoft Account. Terms of use with a Microsoft Account can be found
here. Some countries may have restrictions on who and how a Microsoft
Account can provision an Xbox Live Profile</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The section on refunds says &quot;If you can't use a game or a product because it doesn't work, let us know and we'll try to help you out&quot;, which is not a promise to give a refund, so they do not offer refunds. They say &quot;We <em>might</em> also cancel or suspend a transaction if there has been an error&quot;, which is an option and not a commitment. They also say</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We may change these Account Terms from time to time, if we have reason
to. For example, there might be changes to our games, our practices,
or our legal obligations. We'll inform you of the change before it
takes effect, either by posting a notice on our Website or some other
reasonable way. If you use the Website or your account after the
change, that means you agree to the changes. If you do not agree to
the changes, stop using the Website. The changes will apply to your
use of the Website when you next use it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Hence the prospects for a refund based on them migrating to MS is extremely slim, at least give that version of the contract.</p>

<p>Further to @user6726's answer, I figured I should thrown in a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101221093644/http://www.minecraft.net/copyright.jsp" rel="nofollow noreferrer">link to the original &quot;contract&quot;</a> (to be specific, this is dated post-20/dec/2010 (as close as I could find) since that's when it went beta, and the beta is when most ppl bought minecraft. You can find an earlier version for the alpha if you got back in time.</p>
<p>Of note, nothing about that (or anywhere else I could find on the site) mentions anything about selling the &quot;game as a service&quot; or anything like that, and most definitely no mention of reserving the right to alter the terms in any way (though it <em>does</em> mention they <em><strong>unreserve</strong></em> the right to make an EULA later on). It quite clearly says you buy the game imo.</p>
<p>The earliest version of that page does however seem to mention something along the lines that you only bought the rights for up-to-and-including the final version? And the linked version that you buy the current state of the game, and that future updates are a bonus? (with a note about how it's so they reserve the right to abandon the software)</p>

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