Microsoft bans 1 million Xbox Live players for piracy

Submitted by gameboy

TC Game Articles

Microsoft has banned 1 million Xbox Live players from its popular internet gaming site for using pirated versions of Activion's new blockbuster video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare."

It seems a little pressure from Activision might have gotten the ban slapped on the players for the video game piracy. According to a report in InformationWeek, Microsoft has banned as many as a million players from Xbox Live for altering their consoles in order to play pirated versions of games.

Call of Duty was released to huge revenue intake this week, and Information Week thinks that because pirated versions of the game appeared on many sharing and download sites before the official release, Activion management may have pressed Microsoft to enact the bans.

Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson, has addressed some of the circumstances that could lead to a player's being banned.

"Players who find their Gamertags banned from Xbox Live have wound up in that situation due to violations of the Xbox Live Terms of Use," Major Nelson wrote.

"The Xbox Live team monitors players for not just cheating, but also for things like threats, racism, profanity, and just being an all around poor sport and ruining the game for others.

"When a Gamertag comes up as violating our policies for online behavior, the person who owns that Gamertag is punished by being banned from the service. Keep in mind, this isn't just a ban on a particular game. This is a ban on the Xbox Live service as a whole, so you won't be able to go online at all during your ban. Initially, you may be banned for a day, a week, or depending on severity, permanently! Kiss that $50 goodbye."