Every day I spend writing about the gaming industry, I find myself thinking: “Surely nothing can surprise me anymore.“However, almost every day I prove myself wrong. Between rising prices throughout the industry and now the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) making me scratch my head during a recent hearing on the Stop Killing Games movement.
For those who are not familiar, Stop Killing Games is a community-led movement who argues Publishers shouldn’t be able to sell games that then become completely unplayable. once their servers are closed. A recent example is Concord, which became inaccessible after sony discontinued its online service. Instead, publishers should provide a way for players to continue accessing the game, whether through community servers or other means.
during a California State Senate Committee Hearing on the Protecting Our Games Act (AB 1921), minecraft and Obligations Both were cited as examples of games that already have community-run servers. The idea is that these servers could help preserve games once official support ends. However, ESA representative Jennifer Gibbons responded, arguing that community servants are “illegal” and that the ESA considers them a form of piracy.
Gibbons stated:
“They are illegal and are not affiliated in any way with Microsoft.…Microsoft for Minecraft has received a lot of criticism because those community servers do not employ the same security standards as Microsoft on its Minecraft servers.”
It’s a strange point to discuss, and I’m aware that there are security concerns, but as far as I know, Microsoft does not have a general policy preventing community-managed servers. In fact, for games like Minecraft, Mojang itself provides official usage guidelines that explain how community servers can operate, including rules on things like monetization and player safety, meaning that community-run servers are within the community’s right to host as long as they follow those guidelines.
I also understand that Gibbons said that these servers are “is not affiliated in any way with Microsoft”, which is true, but it still feels like a strange stance given Minecraft’s long history of thriving community servers. But is there any substance to this opinion? Let me know your opinion in the comments and don’t forget to participate in our survey!
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