In the first part of 2022, Xbox suspended close to 4.8 million accounts. The majority of these suspensions were for violations of the console rules or policies, with major accounts being the most commonly banned category. The data was included in the company’s inaugural ‘Xbox Transparency Report released on Monday.
Xbox has released its first transparency report for the year, detailing the reasons why accounts were suspended and the types of violations that were committed. This information is useful for understanding the patterns of abuse that Xbox is trying to address, and will help to guide future policy decisions.
Xbox took a total of 7.126 million enforcement actions in the first part of 2022. This represents a small percentage of the overall Xbox audience, but it highlights the importance of taking action against rule-breakers. By identifying and punishing offenders, Xbox is helping to ensure that its audience is a safe and respectful place for all.
Xbox Suspended 4.5 – 4.8 Million Accounts (63%) of all enforcements, incidents of both account suspension and content removal were 2.43 million (34%) and incidents of content removal totaled 196,000 (3%). Microsoft said cheating/inauthentic accounts were responsible for 4.33 million enforcements, ahead of adult sexual content (199,000), fraud (87,000), harassment or bullying (54,000), profanity (46,000), phishing (26,000), and ‘other’ (23,000), a category which includes “smaller volume areas such as piracy, account tampering, real-world concerns, drugs, vulgar content, hate speech, spam, advertising, or solicitation”.
Xbox also has an appeals process that enables players to know more information about any enforcements they received and to challenge them. Xbox reviewed 151,000 cases in the first half of 2022 and just 6.5% of appeals were accepted.
Microsoft said in its report: “With this inaugural Xbox Transparency Report, it is our goal to share with you more about the wide range of actions that the Xbox team takes to moderate content on our platform and create safer experiences. As an essential part of our growth, we expect this report to evolve over time as we learn, iterate, incorporate feedback, and make improvements.
“Our proactive moderation, up 9x from the same period last year, allows us to catch negative content and conduct before it reaches players. We continue to invest and improve our tech so players can have safe, positive, and inviting experiences.”
Given the huge releases and the rising growth of Gamepass, Xbox has definitely shown itself as a huge force in the gaming industry. Xbox’s stance on safety and transparency will also play a huge part in Xbox CEO Phil Spencer’s promise of a stronger year for Xbox in 2023.
