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Minecraft fans are free to take a break from the game from time to time, but they might want to at least log in on occasion to ensure their account is in working order. Redditor u/IIIBonesIII recently learned that their account was deleted for over two years of inactivity, leading fellow player u/Centosdude to remark:
"That is messed up. Thanks for the warning." - uCenstodude, r/Minecraft, March 6, 2024
In a March 6 Minecraft subreddit post, IIIBonesIII shared the story of when they didn't play the game or log in to their accompanying Microsoft account for two years. This resulted in their account being completely deleted, including their digital game copy.
Instead of buying Minecraft again, the user opted for Final Fantasy XIV. However, they still shared a warning for other fans of Mojang's sandbox title.
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Minecraft Redditor warns fans not to leave their account inactive for too long
While it isn't unusual for certain sites and services to remove inactive accounts, IIIBonesIII was blindsided that their Microsoft account was deleted, along with any acknowledgment that they had purchased Minecraft on any platform. Despite the fact that they were able to prove that they had bought the game and wanted to reconnect with a new Microsoft account, customer service purportedly didn't help.
Other users lamented that this kind of behavior could even occur but thanked IIIBonesIII for the warning. Redditors, including u/Fataldarkness and u/Woalk, also pointed out that this is stated in Microsoft's support documentation. According to them, the issue may stem from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
This legislation was enacted to ensure data privacy so that tech companies couldn't hold a user's data indefinitely, resulting in the deletion of inactive accounts after an amount of time. For IIIBonesIII and likely many other Minecraft players, this regulation also seems to have led Microsoft to delete their accounts.
u/Woalk stated that IIIBonesIII's post should serve as a PSA in the future.
If a player is using a Microsoft account for the game after the Mojang migration, they'll need to sign in to it every so often to ensure that it isn't removed. It doesn't appear to matter whether players use the account to log in to the game specifically as long as the account is logged in to in some form (Outlook mail, Windows 10/11/ login, Xbox login, etc.).
The thought of a Microsoft account (and any Minecraft-related digital purchases) being completely wiped certainly spooked more than a few commenters. Some lamented the idea that a player could one day try to log in to the game after a break and find out their account and all their purchases have been completely removed.
Digital purchases of Minecraft and its spin-off games and DLCs are tied to a player's Microsoft account, and the company can't keep hold of the data on active accounts due to GDPR.
Players will certainly want to ensure that they log in to their Microsoft account in some capacity to avoid its removal, especially if they have multiple accounts or are planning on stepping away for a while.
IIIBonesIII also stated they received no warning about their account termination. All in all, this should serve as a cautionary tale about digital game ownership, especially since Minecraft sports millions of players. Digital data and games can be removed in a heartbeat, and fans who want to keep a handle on theirs will have to ensure that their accounts are in working order.
Despite the informative post, many players also leveled criticism at Microsoft, which isn't a great look for the company, considering it's still dealing with pushback for its new in-game EULA. Still, while players might not be able to influence a megacorporation like Microsoft, IIIBonesIII's post should be a very helpful notice to players with multiple accounts or those who have taken an extended break.
If players haven't played Mojang's title in a while, now might be a good time to log in to their accounts in some form or fashion, including the official game client. They may not get another chance.
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