Love Minecraft: Java? You'll have to learn to love your Microsoft account as well – it will be required next year
- Reference: 1603394888
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/10/22/minecraft_microsoft_account/
- Source link:
The not-at-all-patronising announcement trumpeted "Same Minecraft, new and improved account!" That's assuming you actually wanted a Microsoft account in order to play a game that previously didn't require it. For those unaware, there are various [2]editions of Minecraft, and the [3]Java one is described as "the most feature complete version." Plus it's easily modified and thus said to have a sizable community of mods and custom servers.
There was, a certain inevitability in the move, and it is more surprising that it didn't happen sooner. Microsoft, after all, spent billions [4]acquiring Mojang and its Minecraft creation back in 2014, roughly six years ago.
To be fair, there are benefits for users: security should be better with multi-factor authentication, all the PC Minecraft games (including Minecraft Dungeons) will be connected to the same account, and parental controls (at least for parents able to work the things out) could prove useful.
Oh, and that first login with that Microsoft account gets the user a special cape to show their loyalty to the BSOD Gods they were around for the transition. "You might even have more than one outfit to show off," teased the Microsoft gaming team.
The actual move will kick off in 2021, although new players will need Microsoft accounts from the get-go. Those with a Java or Mojang account will be migrated in batches, with emailed instructions on the transition and that natty cape at the end of it.
No, boss, I'm not playing Minecraft. Minecraft is where I run VMs on the desktop now [5]READ MORE
It isn't optional, and those uneasy at the idea of using a Microsoft account will eventually find themselves locked out of the blocky playground. Once you get your Microsoft account with Minecraft Java, you still won't be able to play with Minecraft Bedrock players, we note.
The reasoning behind the move is, at face value, security. Some players have [6]muttered darkly about microtransactions, while others worried about the future of mods and skins in the game despite Redmond insisting this won't be affected.
A [7]FAQ and [8]video have been posted in an effort to smooth furrowed brows.
It could be worse. Fans of the Oculus headset [9]were informed earlier this year they will need a Facebook account before long, with users of new hardware requiring one. The antisocial media giant even warned its players "we expect some games and apps may no longer work" as a result of the account requirement.
Back to Minecraft, Mojang also asked its fan: "Who knows what we'll do next?" A reference, we hope, to yet more bells and whistles coming down the pipe for the game rather than anything that might entail the donning of a tinfoil hat. ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/java-edition-moving-house
[2] https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Minecraft#Edition_comparison
[3] https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Java_Edition
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2014/09/15/notch_leaves_mojang/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/27/run_virtual_machines_in_minecraft/
[6] https://twitter.com/okbuddystaac/status/1318966711312285696
[7] https://help.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/articles/360050865492
[8] https://youtu.be/i9cqIwrgz7w
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/18/oculus_facebook_login/
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The security considerations for Mojang are real however. They have always had a fairly weak security model, no 2FA, and various account hiijack paths in the past. Plus lots of bad historic tools like all those 3rd party launchers that access your credentials to launch the game.
I know I'll get some flak for saying this but moving to Microsoft accounts will be a definite security upgrade, at the very least they will close the gaping launcher-see-your-login-and-password hole and put an end to all the rest of the speculation about what Mojang was doing or not in their backend.
I couldn't care less!
I only have a faint idea of what Minecraft is. Anyway, as long as I can have a local login for my Windows 10 box I'll be just fine.
I know, it might not be for long but the day when Microsoft will take it away, their telemetry servers will receive a last message informing that a bootable installation media for a non-MS OS has been created successfully.
Re: I couldn't care less!
How long before you need a microsoft account for github ?
Slurp Slurp.. Slurrrrrrp
All yuor data r belong to MS
Can someone explain to me just how 2FA benefits the user? The kind of user who is able to remember an appropriately strong & unique password for all of his/her/their/its accounts.
To me, it just seems like
a) a license to slurp, for the provider of the 2FA system, and
b) an easy way to get locked out of my own account, if for example I dropped my phone in a river/toilet/boiling pit of lava, as I am sometimes wont to do.
"security should be better with multi-factor authentication"
I'm sorry, we're talking about Minecraft. This is not a platform that enables bitcoin mining, or personal detail stealing.
It's a game. A small, block world game.
You're telling me that, all of sudden, I need Fort Knox protection to mine cobblestone ?
Fuck off.
Re: "security should be better with multi-factor authentication"
Lots of kids play it. lots of kids use the same logins everywhere. Lots of kids aren't monitored. Lots of accounts then get compromised etc.
User accounts - NO!
Why the f*** must we register an account for every piece of software? So the bastards can spam you or sell you.
Then your account gets made easier to use by auto login (i.e. remember my password - looking at you paypal).
So then we need 2FA to access the account. Most 2FA is a waste of time as they all want is your mobile number. To spam you or sell you.
But it's needed because they killed the first authentication.
Has anybody told micros~1 that the target audience for minecraft are below the age of consent? And therefore they might be spying on kiddies? Or maybe they think that their parents - generation facebook - already accept that this is how computers work.
Not sure if BB or the child snatcher is more appropriate. Not interested in think of the children, so you're up BB
Why can't we just have a Minecraft that doesn't actually fucking require any login if not playing online. Like all the old CD games from the 90s.
Ah well
I've pretty much quit playing Minecraft anyway.
reason?
Somebody has their bonus tied to number of accounts at MS