Each day I spend writing about the gaming industry, I find myself thinking, "Surely nothing can surprise me anymore." Yet almost every day, I'm proven wrong. Between soaring prices across 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 unfamiliar, Stop Killing Games is a community-led movement that argues publishers shouldn't be able to sell games that later become completely unplayable once their servers are shut down. One recent example is Concord, which became inaccessible after Sony discontinued its online service. Instead, publishers should provide a way for players to continue to access the game, whether via community servers or other means.
During a California State Senate committee hearing on the Protect Our Games Act (AB 1921), Minecraft and Call of Duty were both cited as examples of games that already have community-run servers. The idea is that these servers could help preserve games after official support ends. However, ESA representative Jennifer Gibbons pushed back, arguing that community servers are "illegal" and that the ESA considers them a form of piracy.
Gibbons stated:
"They're illegal, and they are not in any way affiliated with Microsoft... Microsoft for Minecraft has gotten a lot of criticism because of those community servers not employing the same safety standards that Microsoft does on their Minecraft servers."
It's a bizarre point to argue, and I am aware there are safety concerns, but as far as I'm aware, Microsoft has no blanket policy preventing community-run servers. In fact, for games like Minecraft, Mojang itself actually provides official usage guidelines that explain how community servers can operate, including rules around things like monetization and player safety, meaning community-run servers are well within the community's right to host as long as they follow those guidelines.
I also understand that Gibbons said these servers are "not in any way affiliated 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 take? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and don't forget to take part in our poll!
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