You log in. You’re ready to finish that iron farm or finally scout the Woodland Mansion you found last week. Then, the launcher hits you with a button that says "Play Demo" instead of "Play." Or worse, a red bar pops up with a message about Minecraft saying I don't own the game. It feels like a gut punch. You paid for it. You’ve played it for years. Now, Microsoft acts like you’re a stranger at the door.
It's frustrating. Honestly, it’s one of the most common tech support nightmares in the modern gaming era. Since the Great Migration—when Mojang accounts were forced into the Microsoft ecosystem—these "license not found" errors have skyrocketed. It isn't usually a case of Mojang stealing your money. It's almost always a digital handshake that failed between your computer, the Xbox Live servers, and the Microsoft Store.
The Post-Migration Mess: Why Your License Disappeared
Most people hitting this wall are victims of the account migration transition. Back in the day, you had a Mojang account. It was simple. You used an email and a password, and you were in. Then Microsoft decided everyone needed to be under one roof for "security" and "cross-play" reasons.
If you missed the migration window, your old Mojang credentials literally won't work anymore. The account is technically deactivated. However, even if you did migrate, the launcher gets confused. It tries to look for a license on an old email address or a "shadow" profile that doesn't actually have the game attached to it.
Sometimes the issue is as dumb as being logged into the wrong Windows profile. If your sister or your roommate logged into their Microsoft account on your PC to check their email, the Xbox app might have automatically switched over. Since they don't own Minecraft, the game thinks you don't own Minecraft. It’s a cascading failure of "helpful" auto-login features.
Check Your Receipt (Literally)
Before you panic and buy the game a second time, you need to prove to yourself that you own it. Go to the Microsoft Account Order History. Filter by "All Available."
💡 You might also like: Blox Fruits Trade Calculator: Why You’re Still Getting L Trades
If you don't see "Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition for PC" in that list, you are logged into the wrong email. Period. I’ve seen people insist they only have one email, only to realize they used a university address or an old Outlook account they made just for the migration. Find that order. If it's there, the problem is your software. If it isn't, you're chasing a ghost on the wrong account.
Fix the "Play Demo" Loop
The "Play Demo" button is the most visible symptom of Minecraft saying I don't own the game. Here is the reality: the Minecraft Launcher is notoriously buggy when it comes to caching credentials. It remembers you’re "Logged In," but it forgets to check if you're "Authorized."
The Nuclear Reset Method
Don't just restart the launcher. That rarely works. You need to force a fresh handshake.
- Open the Minecraft Launcher and log out of everything.
- Close the launcher.
- Open the Microsoft Store app on Windows. Log out there too.
- Open the Xbox App. Log out.
- Now, log back into the Microsoft Store first with the account that definitely owns the game.
- Open the Xbox app and ensure it matches that account.
- Finally, open the Minecraft Launcher.
This forces the launcher to pull the "entitlement token" from the Store app rather than relying on its own buggy internal memory. It sounds like overkill. It isn't.
The Store Services Glitch
Sometimes the background services that manage digital rights management (DRM) just stop. If the Gaming Services app on Windows is hung, the launcher can't verify your purchase. You can fix this by going to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps. Find "Gaming Services," click the three dots, go to Advanced Options, and hit "Repair" and then "Reset." Do the same for the Xbox app and the Minecraft Launcher itself.
👉 See also: You and Me and Her: What Most People Get Wrong About the Visual Novel
The Microsoft Store vs. The "Legacy" Launcher
There are actually two versions of the launcher now. There’s the "Minecraft Launcher" from the Microsoft Store, and the "Legacy" launcher that used to be the standard for Windows 7/8.
Ironically, the "Legacy" launcher—which you can still download from the Minecraft website—is often more stable. If the Store version keeps saying you don't own the game, try the Legacy version. It handles account tokens differently and often bypasses the weird Xbox Live sync errors that plague the Windows 10/11 app.
Why "Game Pass" Makes This Worse
If you play Minecraft through a Game Pass subscription, the "don't own the game" error is usually tied to a billing issue. If your subscription lapsed for even an hour, or if your credit card on file expired, the license is revoked instantly.
Even after you pay, the "unowned" status can stick around for 24 hours while the servers sync up. It’s annoying. You’re essentially waiting for a server in a data center halfway across the country to realize your $15 went through.
Dealing with Support (The Last Resort)
If you have your Transaction ID—that long string of numbers from your original purchase email—and the game still won't load, you have to contact Microsoft Support. Be warned: it’s a slog. They will likely tell you to do everything I just listed.
Tell them specifically: "My account is migrated, my order history shows the purchase, but the Xbox entitlement service is not recognizing the license." This uses the language their internal documentation understands. It gets you past the "did you try turning it off and on again" phase of the script.
Practical Steps to Take Right Now
Stop clicking the "Play" button repeatedly. It won't work. Follow these steps to get back into your world:
- Verify your Order History: Log into account.microsoft.com and find the actual transaction for Minecraft. Note the email address exactly.
- Sync the "Trinity": Ensure the Microsoft Store, Xbox App, and Minecraft Launcher are all signed into that exact same email address. Even one mismatch breaks the chain.
- Update Gaming Services: Go to the Microsoft Store > Library > Get Updates. If "Gaming Services" or "Xbox Identity Provider" needs an update, the game will fail to verify ownership.
- Flush the Standalone Launcher: If you're using a third-party launcher like Prism or MultiMC and getting this error, you usually need to refresh your "Microsoft Instance" in the account settings of that app.
- Check the Server Status: Sometimes it’s not you. Check the @MojangStatus X (formerly Twitter) account. If their authentication servers are down, everyone technically "doesn't own the game" for a few hours.
The digital transition has made ownership feel fragile. You bought a game, but what you actually bought was a license that needs to be constantly re-verified. By keeping your apps updated and ensuring your login "trinity" is synced, you can usually bypass the bugs and get back to mining. It’s a hassle, but once the token is refreshed, you shouldn't have to deal with it again for a long time.