Xbox players need to learn to behave or risk a one-year ban
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Xbox players need to learn to behave or risk a one-year ban
Microsoft is cracking down on foul-mouthed Xbox players with a new strike system
Xbox players be warned: your bad behavior online will no longer be tolerated. Microsoft is rolling out a new strike-based enforcement program that aims to curtail trolls, griefers, and nefarious players who continue to break Xbox’s community standards.
And Microsoft is clearly serious about its new enforcement program. Users who receive eight strikes will be banned from using the Xbox Network – that includes using voice chat and online multiplayer – for a year. No more playing the best Xbox games like Halo Infinite for you.
Xbox player services corporate vice president Dave McCarthy told The Verge that the new system is “all about player transparency” and is a way to show players their standing in the community, which previously wasn’t possible. McCarthy said the strike-based program makes things “completely clear” so you know whether you’re close to a suspension and why.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Xbox enforcement program
🚨 Microsoft is rolling out a new enforcement program to improve the Xbox community
✋ Players will now face suspensions for bad behavior which can stack
📆 The maximum suspension is one-year
👍 Microsoft said players usually correct bad behavior after one enforcement action
You can receive a strike for profanity, cheating, sexually inappropriate language, harassment or bullying and hate speech, but there are more actions that Microsoft is tracking. If you receive one or two strikes, you’ll receive a one-day suspension; three strikes will see you suspended for three days; four strikes is a seven-day suspension; five strikes is a 14-day suspension; six strikes is a 21-day suspension; seven strikes is a 60-day suspension, and eight strikes will see you banned for 365 days or one year.
Players will be able to submit appeals and strikes can be removed if they’re successful. Strikes will also disappear after six months, meaning you’re not forever tarred by your previous bad behavior.
You may be wondering whether eight strikes is too forgiving for someone who has broken the rules multiple times. But according to Microsoft CEO of Gaming Phil Spencer, the severity of the action can result in more than one strike.
“The enforcement system is designed to empower players… and create a good environment for people that play by the rules,” Spencer said in a reply on X. Strikes are assigned based on the severity of the actions and can result in more than one strike for an infraction.”
As Microsoft notes in a post on Xbox Wire, fewer than 1% of players received a temporary suspension in 2022 and only a third received a second. Data shows that players typically stop inappropriate behavior once they’ve received a slap on the wrist, but this should help deter and remove those who simply won’t learn their lesson.
With the majority of players on Xbox chatting privately to their friends in Party Chat, the expletive-filled lobbies of the past aren’t really as prominent as they once were. However, knowing you have the tools to report bad actors is always welcome, and should make Xbox a better place to play for everyone.