Notch Slams ESA for Calling Minecraft Private Servers 'Illegal'
A recent California State Senate hearing regarding the Protect Our Games Act—a bill backed by the Stop Killing Games movement—has sparked a heated industry debate. The legislation aims to require publishers to maintain game functionality after official support ends, with proponents suggesting that private servers could serve as a viable solution for player access. During the proceedings, however, the Electronic Software Association (ESA) took a controversial stance, labeling private servers as a form of “piracy.”
Jennifer Gibbons, the ESA’s VP of State Government Affairs, specifically cited Minecraft as an example during the hearing. She characterized private servers as an “illegal” black market that operates without the sanction of Microsoft. The claim has been met with immediate pushback, largely because Mojang, the developer behind Minecraft, explicitly provides players with the tools to host their own servers and even maintains a browser to help users find custom experiences.
Notch Responds to “Borderline Evil” Claims
Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of Minecraft, publicly condemned the ESA’s testimony. Despite no longer having an active role in the franchise, Persson expressed strong disapproval of the organization’s logic.
“I'm not part of either any more, but I feel like the ESA is being incredibly scummy by pulling this,” Persson stated. “I've never liked them, but even less so now. I did not wish for my work to be used against people. This is borderline evil.”
The ESA’s Updated Stance
Following the backlash, the ESA provided an updated statement to IGN, slightly softening its initial rhetoric while maintaining its core concerns regarding intellectual property. The group clarified that while publishers may take varying approaches, they reserve the right to exercise their rights against IP infringement when servers host copyrighted content without authorization.
The ESA further argued that private servers lack the oversight and trust-and-safety standards found on official platforms. According to the organization, this absence of regulation could lead to an “unsafe environment for players,” which they claim runs counter to the broader industry commitment to creating secure gaming spaces. As the Gaming News cycle continues to follow the Protect Our Games Act, the tension between player-driven preservation and corporate IP enforcement remains a central point of conflict.