Share via

Minecraft for Windows 10, buy again?

Alfonso Melgoza 0 Reputation points
2026-03-20T20:16:27.6233333+00:00

I've had Minecraft since around 2012 or 2013, I migrated my account back then, and at some point when Minecraft Bedrock came out and you could claim the game, my license got split between two accounts. For the past couple of months, I haven’t been able to log into Minecraft Bedrock because it keeps asking me to buy it again. This account is the one with access to Bedrock, and for some reason, the account that used to have access to Java lost it. and to play, I need to have two accounts open simultaneously one in the store and one on Xbox so I can access both. But as I said, for the past couple of months I haven’t been able to access Bedrock; it keeps asking me to buy the game again.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Microsoft Store
0 comments

3 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest

  1. AI answer

    2026-03-20T20:16:37.68+00:00

    The behavior matches a mismatched-accounts scenario between the Microsoft Store account (which owns the Bedrock license) and the Xbox/Minecraft playing account.

    To avoid being asked to buy again and to stop needing two accounts signed in at once, the game needs to be run with a consistent identity strategy:

    1. Decide which Microsoft account should be the purchasing account (the one that actually owns Minecraft for Windows/Bedrock in Microsoft Store order history).
    2. On Windows 10, open the Microsoft Store app and sign out, then sign back in with that purchasing account only.
    3. In the Xbox app/Xbox Game Bar, sign out and sign back in with the same Microsoft account if the goal is to keep purchases and play identity aligned.
    4. Launch Minecraft for Windows from the Microsoft Store “My Library” section so it uses the Store account that owns the license.

    If the design of the game or services assumes that the Xbox account and Store account are the same, then both apps (Microsoft Store and Xbox) must be signed into the same Microsoft account; otherwise, the game can treat the Store account as the payer and the Xbox account as the playing identity, but it must explicitly support that mismatched scenario.

    If, after aligning accounts as above, the Store still shows only a “Buy” button and no “Install” option for Minecraft for Windows on the account believed to own it, then the Bedrock license is not currently associated with that Microsoft account, and support would be required to review purchase history and account ownership.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
  2. Carl-L 14,495 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-26T08:39:10.6866667+00:00

    Hello Alfonso Melgoza,

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

    Before we proceed, can you please check on your Microsoft account order history to see if there is still the order history of the claim on your current account?

    In the meantime, here are a few steps you can check.

    • Type "Credentials manager" in the search bar and press Enter.
    • Go to Windows Credentials.
    • Remove all entries related to the Minecraft Launcher, your 2 accounts and any entries contain "Xbl" in it.
    • Restart your computer and sign in again.

    I'm waiting for your reply.

    Was this answer helpful?

  3. Alfonso Melgoza 0 Reputation points
    2026-03-20T20:21:07.26+00:00

    I've already tried every possible combination with both accounts, and in order to play Minecraft Java Edition, I need to have my Hotmail account on the store and my Gmail account on the Xbox app.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.