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I don't understand the difference?

"When something is required, it is necessary to complete an action or achieve a goal. When something is mandatory, it is obligatory, usually because some law or rule imposed it."

https://thecontentauthority.com/blog/required-vs-mandatory

As a native speaker, I don't understand the distinction. If you want to achieve the goal of playing Minecraft, it is (or will become) obligatory to use a Microsoft account because Microsoft changed the rules to impose this.

Is the nuance maybe that something that is mandatory must be done even if you are not in the process of completing a goal? It's possible that Microsoft will kill the migration process at some point (either intentionally or through neglect), so maybe this must be done if you want to play again without paying again.

It's somewhat nuanced. You're missing the human aspect of it. If someone tells you an action is mandatory, it implies that they have some sort of power over you (boss, police, government, etc.). If someone tells you something is required, it has more of an air of "you need to do this to access this product".

One is far more aggressive and off-putting than the other.

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