Minecraft Archives

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

ESA Lobbyist Calls Private Minecraft Servers Illegal During Hearing

Jennifer Gibbons, Vice President of State Government Affairs at the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), stated during a California State Senate hearing that community servers for Minecraft and Call of Duty are "illegal" and equate to "piracy." She mentioned that the ESA has pending lawsuits against private servers and that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has identified some private servers as notorious markets for piracy. Gibbons' comments were challenged by Assemblyman Chris Ward, who noted the existence of community servers for both games. An ESA representative later clarified that Gibbons was responding to a complex question and that private servers hosting copyrighted content without authorization infringe on the intellectual property rights of game publishers. The ESA reported a total revenue of ,614,556 in the fiscal year ending March 2025, with ,804,681 from member dues.

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

ESA Claims Private Minecraft Servers Are ‘Illegal’ and ‘Piracy’ in Stop Killing Games Hearing

The California State Senate hearing on the Protect Our Games Act raised questions about the legality of private Minecraft servers. Assemblyman Chris Ward noted that games like Minecraft and Call of Duty have successfully used community servers, while Jennifer Gibbons from the ESA argued that these servers are illegal and unapproved by Microsoft, labeling them as piracy. Gibbons stated that the ESA has two lawsuits against private servers for infringing on intellectual property rights. In contrast, Minecraft's official stance encourages the creation of third-party servers, which are vetted for compliance with community standards. The ESA maintains that private servers infringe on publishers' rights. The USTR's Notorious Market Report referenced by Gibbons does not specifically target community servers for connecting friends but focuses on those bypassing subscription services. The Protect Our Games Act did not advance but will be reconsidered. An ESA representative later clarified that private servers hosting copyrighted content without authorization infringe on publishers' rights and highlighted concerns about safety standards on these platforms.

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

Private Minecraft servers violate the law and resemble a “black market” – according to the Entertainment Software Association

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has declared private Minecraft servers illegal, equating them to a "black market" for video games and considering them a form of piracy. The ESA is pursuing legal action against the owners of these private servers. However, Microsoft and Mojang Studios, the creators of Minecraft, do not fully share the ESA's perspective, as many fan-driven projects have thrived in a more lenient environment. Microsoft has not officially commented on the ESA's statements regarding private servers.

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

Minecraft Marketplace Summer Sale cuts prices on 300 in-game items

The Minecraft Marketplace Summer Sale offers discounts of up to 33% on over 300 select items, including add-ons, skins, texture packs, and adventures for Minecraft Bedrock Edition. The sale features items like the Biomes O’ Plenty add-on, which adds over 50 unique biomes, and the RealismCraft add-on, which enhances visuals with new mobs and weather effects. The Naturalist 26.1 add-on introduces realistic animals, while the Eternal End add-on reimagines the End Dimension with new biomes and items. The sale is live in the UK from June 30, 2023, at 6 PM BST until July 28, 2026, at 6 PM BST.

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

Summer Sale 2026

The Minecraft Summer Sale 2026 will start at 10 AM on June 30 and end at 10 AM on July 28. The sale will last for four weeks and feature discounts on popular Marketplace items such as RealismCraft, Huggy & Friends, and Biomes O’ Plenty. The first two weeks will offer additional personal items at discounted prices until July 14. From June 30 to July 14, there will be two Doorbuster deals each day with discounts up to 75% on various add-ons, texture packs, and mini-games, available for 24 hours each.

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

Switch puzzler Suika Game will soon be launching on PC

Aladdin X's Suika Game, after its successful debut on the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices, will be released on PC via Steam. The game has achieved 7.4 million downloads on the Switch and over 13 million total sales. The PC version will include customization options, controller support, Steam Achievements, and will require a maximum of 16 GB of RAM and a minimum of 2 GB of storage space. The launch date is not yet announced, and compatibility with the Steam Deck is uncertain.

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

ESA bafflingly declares private Minecraft servers ‘illegal’ in Stop Killing Games hearing: ‘We consider it piracy, we have lawsuits’

During a California State Senate hearing on the Protect Our Games Act (AB 1921), Jennifer Gibbons, vice president of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), claimed that private servers for games like Minecraft and Call of Duty are illegal and constitute piracy. This statement has been challenged by gaming communities, as players can legally set up private servers by downloading a .jar file from the official Minecraft website. Advocates for the Protect Our Games Act plan to enhance their lobbying efforts by increasing funding, establishing an in-person presence, and forming a coalition of organizations and developers. Additionally, there are plans to introduce similar legislation in other states and potentially at the federal level.

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

‘Minecraft’s’ New Herschel Bag Collab Sees Items Disappearing From Inventory—Should You Get It?

Players are experiencing issues with item disappearance from their inventories when using the Herschel bag in Minecraft. A bug report has been submitted to Mojang, indicating that items stored in the bag vanish upon logging back into the game. The Herschel Backpack Trials add-on offers 16 pages of space, totaling 384 slots, and includes features like automatic sorting and a soul-bound characteristic. Despite the bug, the add-on has a 4.5-star rating on the Minecraft Marketplace, suggesting that most players are enjoying it without issues. Players are advised to empty the backpack before logging off to avoid losing valuable items.

AppWizard

June 30, 2026

Minecraft Dappled Forest Guide: How to Find, Structures, and More

The Dappled Forest biome in Minecraft is a new cold biome characterized by colorful Poplar trees, red shrubs, and shelf mushrooms, designed to evoke the essence of autumn with warm hues. It features Poplar trees in red, orange, or yellow, fallen Poplar trees, shelf mushrooms, red shrubs, leaf litter, brown mushrooms, and abandoned camps. Players can find this biome near colder areas like snowy tundras and taigas, and it includes various animal mobs such as sheep, cold chickens, cold cows, cold pigs, rabbits, and foxes.

AppWizard

June 29, 2026

Is Minecraft down today on Monday, June 29? Latest updates

On June 29, 2026, players of Minecraft are experiencing difficulties connecting to the game, with widespread reports of issues across social media. There has been no official communication from Mojang about the game's status, and there are no definitive answers regarding when the game will be restored.