Do you need a Microsoft account to play Minecraft?
What exactly do you need in order to start playing Minecraft?
Do you need a Microsoft account in order to play Minecraft? Back when Minecraft was first becoming famous as perhaps the greatest sandbox survival game of all time, all you needed in order to start playing was a Mojang account. But these days, Mojang is owned by Microsoft, and getting into Minecraft even after having purchased the game can be a little confusing.
Below we'll answer the question of whether you need a Microsoft account to play Minecraft, and how to migrate your old Mojang account if needed.
Do you need a Microsoft account to play Minecraft?
Since 2021, you need a Microsoft account in order to play Minecraft. Before this point, players were able to play Minecraft simply with a Mojang account, but this legacy style of account is no longer enough to start playing Minecraft.
If you try to login to the Minecraft Launcher using your Mojang account, you will be prompted to migrate it to a Microsoft account before you can run Minecraft itself.
How to migrate your Mojang account to Microsoft
If you are a lapsed player returning to Minecraft with a Mojang account, then you'll need to migrate your Mojang account to a Microsoft account before you can start playing. To do this, open up the Minecraft Launcher and login with your Mojang account. Then click the big green "Move My Account" button and follow the instructions on-screen.
Once you get to the point of having to type in an email address, you can either type in a new email address to create a new Microsoft account, or click the "Use another account" button to select an existing Microsoft account to use for playing Minecraft.
That concludes this quick guide on whether you need a Microsoft account to start playing Minecraft. Now that you're (presumably) ready and raring to play, why not start off on the right foot with our list of the best Minecraft seeds? You can also make your game look as fantastic as possible with our recommendations for the best Minecraft shaders and best Minecraft texture packs for the latest version of Minecraft!