Oops. Microsoft has its hat in hand after accidentally smashing multiple Xbox Live users in the face with the banhammer.<\/p>\n
These bans were issues between the 29th of August and the 9th of September, and were a result of a technical error \u2013 Microsoft is yet to release just how many accounts were erroneously banned.<\/p>\n
If you were one of those unlucky few, the good news is you\u2019ll be getting three months free subscription and 1600 free Microsoft points \u2013 not too shabby, you probably needed those two weeks away from gaming anyway, it\u2019s good to see the sun now and then.<\/p>\n
Microsoft wasn\u2019t too exact about the details of the problem, just saying that the problem was caused by an issue with software used in assisting security policy enforcement, which they have of course now stopped using.<\/p>\n
Another man with far too long a title, Stephen Toulouse, Xbox Live Director of Policy and Enforcement, explains why they\u2019re being tight-lipped about the finer details, \u201cThere are entire internet forums dedicated to parsing every word we say about what the console is doing when it is looking for modifications, so that they can figure out a way around it,”<\/p>\n
“We have to be careful about sharing to that level of specificity, because that’s what they’re looking for. So, I can’t go into what it was looking for, or how it was looking for it, I can only state that due to a software issue it drew up some machines that were not tampered.”<\/p>\n
While no exact number has been given, Toulouse has said it was \u201ca small number of users\u201d.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re hoping this is the reason you were banned, and not your overly-modded console, vast collection of pirated games and hours spent cheating, the quickest way to find out is plug in and give it a go.<\/p>\n
“This is a tiny fraction of the overall user base. This is not some widespread problem. If your console was suspended between the dates, the quickest way to find out if you were impacted by the software issue is to simply reconnect your console. If you can log in, you were impacted by the issue and we’ve unsuspended the console.”<\/p>\n