Xbox introduces strict ‘strike’ system to prevent online abuse

While one may argue that eight strikes is too lenient for repeat offenders, Microsoft has assured its player-base that fewer than 1% of all online players received temporary suspensions last year.

It also revealed that only one-third of those suspended ever received punishment a second time upon better understanding the Xbox Community Standards and what is considered prohibited behaviour.

‘The strike system is designed to further empower players to engage positively and appropriately on Xbox and with the community,’ said Microsoft, which had already implemented improved anti-abuse measures in July.

Voice messages have long been a medium of choice for disgruntled gamers hurling abuse, but an overhauled reporting system now allows 60-second audio clips to be recorded and submitted to the Xbox Safety Team from within the console dashboard.

As someone who has previously been sanctioned by Xbox, despite being the obvious victim of another player’s trolling and abuse, it’s important to note that anyone can appeal a strike here – if you’ve indeed been had.

Xbox also gives the assurance that all complaints and reports are handled by official employees, just in-case you were worried about an OpenAI application sifting through your messages.

Will the threat of strikes be enough to keep our inboxes free of nonsense until this time next year? Only time will tell.