Why cant I play Minecraft even though I bought it?

Avoid using the new Minecraft launcher (Windows 10/11 version) to play Java Edition

The new launcher has mutiple problems
the most common one being the "Play Demo" error - and incorrectly saying that you don't own the game.

• Uninstall the buggy Windows 10/11 launcher

• install the much more stable Windows 7/8 launcher

https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/download/alternative

Windows 7/8 Launcher is 100 times more stable (regardless of what Windows you're actually using)

the older launcher however does not support launching the Bedrock edition of the game
but you can just launch the bedrock edition straight from the Microsoft store (no need for a launcher)

Once installed - you can also remove the annoying "Please update your launcher message"
by right clicking the launcher properties and set compatibility to Windows 8.

If you're angry enough you can leave a comment here on the bug report page - https://bugs.mojang.com/browse/MCL-16570

Not using Windows?

If you're on Mac or Linux OR just want to try a different launcher altogether - then try a 3rd party launcher

• MultiMC

• Badlion Client

• Lunar client (apparently having issues)

Also check these simple steps

If you have just migrated - make sure you log out and back into the launcher first with your new Microsoft credentials

If you are still having issues, check your minecraft account license on the minecraft.net website

• Navigate to - http://minecraft.net/profile

• You should see something similar to a "My Games" list

• you should see Minecraft Java Edition in your list of games

this template has been used 33 times since August 30th

/Edit 2 PROBLEM SOLVED!! Some great Redditor who will remain unnamed was kind enough to fix the problem for me and I'm now free to log in and create. Or probably just get frustrated and quit. Thank you to everyone who helped out or made any kind of a suggestion!! You guys are awesome!!!!!

/Edit I've been getting some downvotes. Maybe that's just trolling or maybe people think I'm super mad about this or something. Just to clarify, I'm not mad that this happened. It was clearly just some kind of glitch, or something went wrong during verification, or I'm just being an idiot and missing something obvious. Not mad about the situation, but I would like to either join the fun, or just have my money back.

So, I paid for minecraft the other day. My card has been charged, the funds have been deducted but the website still says I need to pay for the game.

Read all through the FAQs, made a post on the "official" forum, I went through the tech support email list all the way to emailing tech support (i.e. none of the suggestions fixed my problem). I found Notch's email and sent an email straight to him. I tried emailing the tech support directly. Still nothing, I can't play the game. At this point I would almost rather just have my money back, but I still want to try it out. Does anyone have any suggestions that I may have overlooked? Is there anything else I can do?

Why does it say I have to buy Minecraft when I already have it?

Why is my Minecraft saying I don't own it?

How do you open Minecraft after you buy it?

Why can't I play Minecraft with my Mojang account?