Modding Minecraft Is Legal, but Here’s What You Need to Watch Out For

The community of millions of Minecrafters is ready for new adventures every day. Apart from the official updates, the modders in the community are also trying to make it more enjoyable. But is everything developed or created by the unofficial developers and creators legal to use? Are those mods safer and officially endorsed by Microsoft? Well, the issue is rather complicated. Let’s see if modding Minecraft is legal in the first place.

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated in October 2023 and represents the most up-to-date state of Minecraft’s EULA.

Is creating mods for Minecraft legal

Creating mods for Minecraft and modifying the game at all levels is absolutely legal. But you’re not allowed to distribute or profit from that modded version of the game you’ve created. For example, you decided to beautify your Minecraft game with some awesome texture packs filled with some new animals. Your friend comes to see what you’ve done, or you send him or her a few screenshots and he asks you to set it up for him or her as well.

You can legally send your friends your mod list but you’re not allowed to copy and transfer your own modded version of the game to your friend. If you need more reassuring, here’s the part of EULA that references it:

If you’ve bought Minecraft: Java Edition, you may play around with it and modify it by adding modifications, tools, or plugins, which we will refer to collectively as “Mods.” By “Mods,” we mean something original that you or someone else created that doesn’t contain a substantial part of our copyrightable code or content. When you combine your Mod with Minecraft: Java Edition, we will call that combination a “Modded Version” of the game. We have the final say on what constitutes a Mod and what doesn’t. You may not distribute any Modded Versions of our game or software, and we’d appreciate it if you didn’t use Mods for griefing. Basically, Mods are okay to distribute; hacked versions or Modded Versions of the game client or server software are not okay to distribute.

Minecraft EULA

Minecraft developers don’t like when “updates” and other additions to the game or the game’s client come from unofficial sources because there is a small but quite realistic chance that something within those unofficial updates will either corrupt the game unintentionally or intentionally through hacks and viruses.

And once your game becomes unplayable, you’re not going to track down that unofficial source that corrupted your game, you’re going to go straight to official Minecraft support. This is why Minecraft devs like when updates and additional content come from places approved by them.

Is creating mods for Minecraft legal?

Creating mods for Minecraft is absolutely legal as long as you don’t try to profit from them. You are legally the owner of the mods that you create, but since those mods can’t work without Minecraft’s own engine and world, they are basically useless. The majority of the code that you would be trying to profit from does not belong to you it belongs to Microsoft, so it’s not fair for you to profit off of it.

Modding is also perfectly legal as long as you don’t mislead the community that your own hand-crafted mods are an official part of the game. You can’t use the Minecraft logo to mislead your potential users, this is in part connected to the first argument we’ve made.

Here’s what Minecraft EULA has to say about it:

It’s fine to modify your game and share it with the world as long as it’s done in a non-profit and non-harmful way. Mods should improve the game, it’s a fun way to spice up your playthrough but as soon as you try some funny business with it, you might face potential consequences. And always remember, there are plenty of mods created for Minecraft every second if you’re not quite sure about how to proceed with your project that you would like to share with the world. You can always ask for advice.

Can you get banned for modding Minecraft?

You won’t get banned for modding Minecraft as long as you do it in single-player mod or on a server that allows mods. However, if you start using mods on a server that doesn’t allow them or if you’re using mods to cheat in multiplayer games, you might run into some trouble.

Some servers have strict rules against certain mods or plugins, and using them could result in a ban. Always check the server’s rules before bringing out your mods! The majority of mods are created to enhance and make the Minecraft experience more immersive but some of them are created with the single intent of giving you an unfair advantage in the game.

And I know that it’s not realistic to expect that everyone plays by the rules, but even if you decide to cheat, you should know that consequences might be severe and you might risk being banned.

Does Minecraft officially endorse mods?

Minecraft developers are generally okay with players using mods, but those mods are not reviewed by the developers of the game and they are not officially endorsed by them. All content created by the third party is outside their domain and they are not legally obligated to ensure that it won’t mess up your playthrough, if you decide to cheat and get banned from the server, Minecraft devs won’t put up a case in your defense.

While using mods, you are on your own, and for every problem that arises from you using mods, you will have to sort it out yourself. It helps to have a massive community of people using mods, however, but don’t expect official support.

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