Some Xbox users are reportedly receiving indefinite bans for making game purchases via virtual private networks (VPNs). This purported development has prompted some calls for Microsoft to revise its community standards and make it clear what kind of VPN use is and isn't allowed on the Xbox Store.
From avoiding ISP throttling to enhancing privacy, VPNs have long had useful applications in online gaming and elsewhere. However, using them to exploit regional pricing differences for cheaper purchases is against many online storefronts' terms of service.
A player accidentally gets a one-year ban for recording video clips of Baldur's Gate 3 on his Xbox, and he remains hopeful of winning the appeal.
Microsoft might have now started cracking down on such VPN applications in the Xbox community, to the point that some users are facing indefinite bans for spoofing their location data. Global price comparison website Xbox-Now recently began warning users against buying games in countries where they are extremely cheap, citing several examples of people being banned after purchasing an Xbox game via a VPN. However, the exact reason behind this recent wave of sanctions appears to be more complicated than a blanket VPN ban.
In early March...
