Estate planning as a Minecraft account holder

Minecraft is a sandbox video game developed by Mojang Studios and owned by Microsoft. A Minecraft account (tied to a Microsoft account) can hold purchased game licenses (Java Edition, Bedrock Edition, or both), Minecoins (the Marketplace currency), purchased Marketplace content (worlds, skins, texture packs, add-ons), Realms or Realms Plus subscriptions, saved worlds, and multiplayer server data. The Minecraft EULA and the Microsoft Services Agreement together govern the account: the licenses and Minecoins are personal and non-transferable, and Microsoft accounts cannot be transferred to another user. Bedrock Edition supports Microsoft Family Sharing; Java Edition does not. Worlds a player builds remain their own content under the EULA, and Java worlds are stored as local files that survive the account entirely.

Minecraft accounts are forfeited at death under the program's terms. The terms explicitly state that accounts are not the account holder's property and cannot be inherited, transferred by will, or assigned through any estate planning mechanism.

What happens at death

Minecraft accounts are tied to Microsoft accounts and governed by both the Minecraft EULA and the Microsoft Services Agreement. The Microsoft Services Agreement (section 4.a.i) states that "You cannot transfer your Microsoft account credentials to another user or entity." The Minecraft EULA bars giving copies of the game software or content to anyone else, and bars selling, leasing, renting, transferring, or giving away access to a Realm. Microsoft's deceased-user process is a legal-process channel, not a customer-service one: Microsoft "must first be formally served with a valid subpoena or court order to consider whether it is able to lawfully release a deceased or incapacitated user's information," and "will only respond to non-criminal subpoenas and court orders served on Microsoft's registered agent in the requesting party's state or region," and "is unable to respond to faxed or emailed requests for such matters." For customers in Europe, service is on Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd at 70 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland; Germany and China have separate Microsoft customer-support paths that accept inheritance documentation. Even then, Microsoft states it "may be unable to provide the account content and sending a request or providing a subpoena or court order does not guarantee that we will be able to assist you." None of these paths transfers Minecraft licenses, Minecoins, or Marketplace purchases to another person. Minecoins are held against the Microsoft account used to buy them, and "All purchases for Minecoins are final and cannot be refunded." Under the Microsoft account activity policy a Microsoft account must be signed into at least once every two years to stay active (Outlook.com inbox and OneDrive must each be signed into separately at least once a year); an account with an active paid subscription (such as Realms or Realms Plus) or an unspent Microsoft balance is exempt from inactivity closure until that subscription ends or the balance is spent. What survives independently of all of this is the player's own content: the EULA confirms that the worlds a player builds remain theirs, and Java Edition worlds live as ordinary files in the .minecraft/saves folder on the player's own computer.

Frequently asked questions