Minecraft family sharing and what each store allows

Minecraft family sharing works for digital games a parent bought on PC through the Microsoft Store, shared with child accounts in a Microsoft family group. Java Edition cannot be family shared, according to Minecraft Help (text last edited 11 March 2026). Other stores follow their own rules.

Where family sharing applies

Mojang's help page on Family Share says digital Minecraft games can be shared so that several accounts, child accounts included, play without buying again. It ties this to the Microsoft Store. Its own wording on Java Edition is plain: it "cannot be family shared because it is not part of the Microsoft Store." Only the account that bought it plays it without a new purchase.

Setup happens in Windows Settings and the Microsoft Store, and Mojang's page lists the steps. One detail matters: the parent signs in to the Store with the purchasing account during setup, and the page says you can sign out afterwards so the child cannot spend on that account. Our parental controls article covers what the child account itself can and cannot do.

What the EULA says about sharing a login

The EULA says Microsoft platforms (the website, Microsoft Store and Xbox) use Microsoft accounts. If you bought on PlayStation, Nintendo, Apple iOS, Google Play or Steam, that platform's terms apply to the purchase. On what you may not do, it bars handing the game software to anyone else and letting other people get access "in a way that is unfair or unreasonable." Realms access cannot be sold, leased, rented, transferred or given away.

The part of the EULA we read does not mention sharing a password by name, so we cannot say whether it counts as unreasonable access. Family Share is the route Mojang documents. For moving a purchase to another person, see whether a Minecraft account can be transferred. Mods and servers are covered in what the EULA allows for mods and servers.

Several devices and several players

Family Share on PC also covers a new device. Per Mojang's steps, the child signs in to their own Windows profile, the account that bought Minecraft signs in to the Microsoft Store app, and the child then signs in to the Minecraft Launcher with their Microsoft account and sets Minecraft for Windows to install. Which devices play together is a separate question, answered in which Minecraft devices are cross platform.

For two people on one PC, Mojang's page on multiple accounts says Windows allows one Microsoft account per computer user account by default. To use more than one Bedrock purchase on a computer, create a separate computer user account for each purchase, each with its own Microsoft login. Do not put an exclamation mark in the user name, or Bedrock Edition will not run (page last edited 13 February 2026).

The pages we read do not say how many devices one login may be signed in on at once, or whether two people can play on a single login at the same time. We did not test either.

When a child needs their own purchase

A child needs a separate purchase for Java Edition. Mojang's page says the child can buy it on their own account, or you can sign in to the account that already owns it. On a console or phone, the help page describes buying on the child's own platform account, and Minecraft follows whichever is stricter, the platform's controls or the Microsoft family settings.

On PC there are three routes, per the child-account page (edited 2 December 2025). You can buy a gift code that goes to the child's email, let the child buy with money you add to the family account, or use Family Share if you bought on PC. Gifting is documented on minecraft.net (published 22 November 2023): the standard game and the Deluxe Collection both include Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, and the gift is for PC players. What the bundle contains is explained in the Java and Bedrock bundle.

What this means if you use mods, add-ons or a server

Mods run on Java Edition, which Family Share does not cover, so a child who wants mods on a family PC needs their own Java Edition purchase or a sign-in to the owning account. The two games are not interchangeable, as Java against Bedrock sets out. The sign-in itself is explained in what a Minecraft Microsoft account links.

Frequently asked questions

Can two people play Minecraft on one account?

Mojang's pages do not say whether two people can play on one login at once. They do document Family Share for child accounts in a family group, and separate computer user accounts when one PC holds more than one Bedrock Edition purchase. Those are the routes the help pages describe.

Can you share a Minecraft account with family?

The EULA we read does not name password sharing, but it bars unfair or unreasonable access to the game. The documented option is Family Share on PC for games bought through the Microsoft Store. Java Edition cannot be family shared, so each player either buys it or signs in to the owning account.