Mojang publishes real permission, which is unusual, and creators still get it wrong. These lines are quoted from the Minecraft Usage Guidelines, checked on 15 September 2026.
What you may do
Under "Videos, streams, and screenshots":
"You are allowed to create, use, and share videos, streams, and screenshots of you playing or using Minecraft. You may also make money from your videos and streams, through ad revenue, if you follow the guidelines in this section."
The conditions attached to that
The same section lists what has to be true. Paraphrased tightly, with the load-bearing lines quoted:
- Every video must be free to view: "All videos (in their entirety) are free to view (for example there is no pay wall or other charge to view the videos)."
- You must add your own work: "You add enough of your own unique content to the video or stream to make it reasonable for you to make money through someone watching it."
- Branding alone is not enough: "You can't just include your logo, web address, or overlays on top of our or someone else's gameplay, we reserve our right to decide on if your content is unique enough."
- No advertising unrelated things: "You don't create and use videos or streams whose purpose is to advertise or promote products or services unrelated to Minecraft."
- You may not sell copies of the videos or streams, and you may not broadcast uninterrupted gameplay on television networks.
The guidelines also draw the line with two scenarios. Uploading a video with your own content and commentary and earning from advertising around it is described as fine. Charging viewers to watch it through a service such as iTunes is described as not fine.
Two traps people fall into
Ad creatives. If your short exists to promote an app, a store or a course, the "products or services unrelated to Minecraft" line applies to you. The guidelines are also explicit in their "Target audience" section that they do not authorize "commercial companies, corporate brands, advertising agencies" to use Minecraft "for promoting products, services, or agendas unrelated to Minecraft" without prior written approval from Mojang or Microsoft.
Looking official. The summary tells you not to do anything that makes people think your work is "official or approved by, endorsed by, associated with, supported by, or connected to us," and to prominently include a disclaimer along the lines of: "NOT AN OFFICIAL MINECRAFT [PRODUCT/SERVICE/EVENT/etc.]. NOT APPROVED BY OR ASSOCIATED WITH MOJANG OR MICROSOFT." Keep the word Minecraft out of your channel name as the dominant element, and keep the disclaimer in your description.
Platform rules sit on top of all this. YouTube's video game and software content policy warns that "videos simply showing a user playing a video game or the use of software for extended periods of time may not be accepted for monetization," so the script and voice you add are not optional if you want the channel to earn.