Notch defends gamers: "If you don't own it, piracy isn't theft."

It was a day like any other in the gaming community… until Markus Persson, better known as Notch , creator of Minecraft , left a message on X (formerly Twitter) that shook the industry:

“If buying a game isn’t the same as owning it, then pirating it isn’t stealing.”

What seemed like a provocation was actually a direct criticism of business practices that he claims are eroding players' rights.

This movement was born out of the frustration of thousands of players following the shutdown of Ubisoft's The Crew servers. Despite being a single-player title, it was rendered unusable when online support was discontinued.

Stop Killing Games demands that companies:

• Offer permanent offline modes.
• Allow private servers when the official ones are closed.
• Respect the digital property of those who have purchased a game.

Despite being a pro-consumer cause, Stop Killing Games has received criticism from developers and figures such as Pirate Software , who argue that companies have the right to control access to their intellectual property.

It was in this context that Notch intervened, not to defend piracy per se, but to question a business model that sells products without guaranteeing indefinite access.

Notch's reflection raises an ethical dilemma:

• If a purchased game stops working due to the company's decision, did you really own it?
• Can piracy be justified as a way to preserve access?

This debate isn't new. Since the rise of DRM and digital licensing, gamers have seen how "purchasing" a title is actually conditional, temporary access.

Miguel, a racing game fanatic, invested over 500 hours in The Crew . One day, he tried to log in and received a cold message: “Server unavailable.” That moment made him realize that his investment was in the company's hands , not his.

Cases like Miguel's are repeated with MMOs, shooters, and even narrative games that rely on online validation.

For Notch, the problem isn't piracy, but rather an industry that makes gamers consider piracy the only way to preserve what they've purchased.

If the trend continues, experts predict that:

• More players are joining movements like Stop Killing Games .
• Media pressure forces the implementation of mandatory offline modes .
• The community is increasingly turning to emulators and unofficial preservation .

Notch's statement brought to light an uncomfortable truth: digital ownership, as it exists today, is fragile . And as long as players' right to access what they buy isn't respected, piracy will continue to be viewed by some as an act of digital justice.

The future will depend on whether the industry chooses to listen… or continue to risk losing the trust of its most loyal audience.