Founder's Cape in Minecraft: History, Origin, and Buying Guide

Official MINECON Live 2019 Founder's Cape key art on Minecraft.net, showing Steve and Alex wearing the gold creeper cape

Screenshot: Everything We Announced at MINECON Live 2019 (minecraft.net)

The Founder's Cape is a gold cape with a creeper face that Mojang gave away for free during MINECON Live 2019. It started as a Bedrock-only cosmetic, showed up on Java Edition in May 2025, and has not been obtainable since 2019. If you are looking at an account that lists the Founder's Cape, this guide covers where it came from, who actually has it, and how to check it before you pay.

For the full list of capes and which ones can still be earned, see how to get a cape in Minecraft Java. This post stays on one cape.

Where the Founder's Cape came from

In September 2019, Mojang put a new Character Creator into the Bedrock beta. The announcement post said the Character Creator "will allow us to issue capes to Bedrock players in the future."

That future arrived quickly. In its MINECON Live 2019 recap, published September 28, 2019, Mojang said capes were coming to Bedrock platforms for the first time and that "the first cape available will be the Founder's Cape, launching later this fall for a limited time." To secure it, you downloaded the free Founder's Cape skin pack from the Minecraft Marketplace.

The pack itself held only two skins, Steve and Alex wearing the cape. According to the Minecraft Wiki, the Marketplace description told players that downloading the pack meant they would "automatically receive your cape when it launches later this fall." When the Character Creator launched in Bedrock 1.13.0 on October 29, 2019, everyone who owned the pack received the Founder's Cape as a Character Creator item they could wear with any skin.

The pack was pulled from the Marketplace about a month after release. The Minecraft Wiki dates the delisting to October 28, 2019, though it flags that date as needing a citation. Either way, the window was roughly one month in fall 2019.

Two small details from the wiki: it was the first cape released through the Character Creator, and the game files call it the "Minecon 2019 Cape."

What the Founder's Cape looks like

The design is a gold recolor of the MINECON 2011 cape, with a creeper face on it. The gold runs in a gradient, lighter at the bottom and darker toward the top. Like other official capes, it also has a matching elytra design.

Do not confuse it with the MINECON 2011 cape itself. That one went to people who attended MINECON 2011 in person, it is Java-only, and it is far rarer. A listing that blurs the two is either careless or hoping you will not notice.

The 2020 glitch you should know about

The Founder's Cape had a messy year in 2020. The Minecraft Wiki records that on June 23, 2020, a bug made the cape available to all Bedrock players, whether or not they had claimed the pack. On October 22, 2020, it disappeared from everyone's Dressing Room. In Bedrock 1.16.200 it came back for its real owners, and players who had equipped it by mistake lost it.

The buyer takeaway: an old Bedrock screenshot from mid-2020 proves nothing. Check the account as it is today.

When the Founder's Cape came to Java

For more than five years the cape was Bedrock-only. The Minecraft Wiki records that on May 8, 2025, players who already owned it on Bedrock received it on Java Edition as well. The Pan Cape moved over to Java the same day.

We could not find a Minecraft.net news post announcing the change, so that date comes from the wiki's history rather than an official announcement.

What matters for you is how the cape is attached. It belongs to the Microsoft account that claimed the pack, and it appears on the Java profile of that same account. It does not exist separately from the account.

Who has the Founder's Cape

In practice, the cape is on accounts whose owner claimed the free skin pack on Bedrock during that one-month window in 2019. For it to appear on Java, that same Microsoft account also has to own Java Edition.

It is not as scarce as the old MINECON capes. At the time of writing, NameMC lists 177,067 profiles with the Founder's Cape. That puts it just above the Yearn cape (176,627) and below the Mojang Office cape (208,915). For comparison, NameMC lists 3,540 profiles with the MINECON 2011 cape. NameMC only counts profiles it has seen, so the real totals are probably higher, but the ratios give you a fair sense of scale.

The name can also mislead. "Founder's" refers to the first cape in the Character Creator, not to early Minecraft players. An account with this cape is not necessarily an old account. It just had someone who claimed a free skin pack in fall 2019.

Can you still get the Founder's Cape?

No. The skin pack has been off the Marketplace since 2019, and Mojang described the cape as a limited-time launch item. We found no announcement of a re-release.

Capes also cannot be moved from one account to another. Anyone offering to "unlock" or "add" the Founder's Cape to your existing account is offering something that does not exist. The only way to have it now is to use an account that already has it. For how this compares with other ended promotions, see Rare Minecraft Capes in 2026.

How to check an account has the Founder's Cape

Check after you log in, on the actual account. A screenshot from a seller is not verification.

In the Minecraft Launcher. The Minecraft Help Center steps for equipping a cape:

Open the Minecraft Launcher and go to the Skins tab in the Java section.
Click New Skin, or hover over a saved skin and click Duplicate.
Hover over that skin, select ..., then Edit.
The cape list shows the capes this account owns. Choose Founder's and click Save & Use.

If Founder's is not in that list, the account does not have it on Java.

In game. Equip it, join a world, and switch to third person. If you also want to see the elytra version, put on an elytra.

On NameMC. Search the username on NameMC. The profile shows the capes NameMC has recorded for it, and the Founder's cape page lists known profiles that have it. NameMC is a useful cross-check, especially for spotting fake listings, but it reflects NameMC's own data and can lag behind changes. It tells you nothing about who controls the account, so it does not replace checking the launcher yourself.

Buying an account with the Founder's Cape

When you buy a caped account, the cape is part of the account. You are not buying a cape transfer. That makes the account's access level as important as the cosmetic.

Full account access. An MFA account gives you control of the Microsoft account itself, including the email and security settings. If someone else can still recover the account, they can take the cape back with it. The MFA account guide explains the difference.
Secure it right away. Change the password, review the security info, and remove anything you do not recognize. Follow how to secure a Minecraft account after buying.
Know what you are paying for. It is a cosmetic with a clear history and a fixed supply. It does not change gameplay, and it is less rare than the MINECON capes.

If you want one, our caped accounts include Founder's Cape listings, at $19.99 at the time of writing. Whatever you buy, run the launcher check above once you have access.

FAQ

Is the Founder's Cape the same as the MINECON 2011 cape?

No. The Founder's Cape is a gold recolor of the MINECON 2011 design. It was a free Bedrock skin pack reward in 2019. The MINECON 2011 cape went to people who attended that event in person and is Java-only.

Does the Founder's Cape mean the account is old?

Not necessarily. It only means the account's owner claimed the free skin pack in fall 2019. The cape says nothing about when Java was purchased.

Will the Founder's Cape come back?

There has been no announcement of a re-release. Mojang offered it for a limited time in 2019.

Can I see the Founder's Cape on Bedrock too?

Yes. It is a Character Creator item, so it appears in the Dressing Room on Bedrock for the same Microsoft account.

Do other players see it on Java?

Yes. It is an official cape, so it shows like other official capes, not only for users of a particular mod or client.