A federal judge in Pennsylvania denied Microsoft and Mojang’s request to move a minor’s video-game addiction lawsuit out of court and into arbitration. The decision turned on the agreements and account evidence in this case—not on whether video games caused the alleged harm, and not on a blanket rule for all such lawsuits.
What the judge decided
On September 25, 2026, U.S. District Judge Mia Roberts Perez denied Microsoft and Mojang’s motion to compel arbitration in Mercado v. Roblox Corp. et al., No. 2:25-cv-05925-MRP. The memorandum was filed on September 28, 2026. The court concluded that the minor plaintiff had disaffirmed Microsoft’s Services Agreement (MSA), and that Microsoft had not shown the parent agreed to the MSA on the minor’s behalf. Read the court’s memorandum; see the docket entry.
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The ruling concerns whether Microsoft and Mojang could enforce arbitration against these plaintiffs on the record before the court. It does not decide whether the games caused injury or whether any defendant is liable. Nor does it resolve arbitration requests by every defendant in the case. The order’s scope is limited to the motion it decided.
Why Microsoft and Mojang’s arbitration request failed
The minor had disaffirmed the Microsoft agreement
The case concerns S.S.M., a minor represented by parent and legal guardian Dany Mercado. Microsoft and Mojang relied on the MSA, which includes an arbitration clause. The court explained that arbitration rests on contract: “A court can compel a party to arbitrate only if the party agreed to arbitration.” The opinion attributes that rule to Zirpoli v. Midland Funding, LLC.
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S.S.M. signed a declaration on June 3, 2026, disaffirming the MSA and its arbitration clause. The account records showed no use after the last recorded access in February 2026, and Microsoft offered no evidence of later use. Applying Pennsylvania law concerning contracts made by minors, the court held the disaffirmance effective: “As a minor, S.S.M. was entitled to disaffirm the MSA and avoid its enforcement.”
Microsoft did not establish the parent’s assent
The court also found that Microsoft had not established Mercado agreed to the MSA for the minor. It sustained an objection to a declaration from Microsoft counsel identifying accounts because the declaration relied on unidentified third-party background reports whose reliability and admissibility could not be assessed. The other account records did not adequately connect Mercado to the relevant Microsoft or Xbox accounts.
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What the lawsuit alleges—and what remains undecided
The complaint alleges that S.S.M.’s use of Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite led to video-game addiction, academic decline, reduced social interaction, and withdrawal symptoms. Those are allegations recounted in the court’s background, not findings that the minor had a diagnosis or that the games caused the alleged effects. The complaint includes claims such as strict product liability, negligence, and fraud; the arbitration order did not decide their merits.
Does this mean video game addiction lawsuits can never be forced into arbitration?
No. The decision is specific to the Microsoft and Mojang motion, the MSA, the evidence of account use and parental assent, and the applicable Pennsylvania law. It does not establish that every arbitration clause involving a minor is invalid or that every video-game addiction lawsuit must remain in court. Whether arbitration can be compelled depends on whether the relevant person agreed to arbitrate, whether a minor effectively disaffirmed the contract under applicable law, whether a parent or guardian assented for the minor, and the exact contract provision and motion at issue.
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How the separate Roblox ruling differs
Bloomberg Law reported a separate denial of Roblox’s attempt to compel arbitration in the same litigation. That ruling was described as turning on the minor’s rejection of a clause delegating questions of contract formation to an arbitrator. It was a different motion involving a different asserted contract provision; it should not be treated as the reasoning for Judge Perez’s Microsoft and Mojang decision. Bloomberg Law’s September 29, 2026 report.
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