Xbox’s new punishment system strongly believes in second—or eighth—chances

Do you believe in second chances? The Xbox team does. And third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth, according to its new strike-based enforcement system.

The new system put in place will penalize players for bad behavior online, such as abusive or foul language, with eight infractions causing a one-year ban from the platform.

According to Microsoft, the system is being utilized to educate players and give them “a better understanding of enforcement severity and the cumulative effect of multiple enforcements,” but its “content moderation efforts are not changing as a result of the new enforcement strike system.”

“The new system attaches strikes to every enforcement, ranging in severity based on inappropriate activity,” Microsoft said. “Each player will now have a view of their enforcement history including strikes and the overall impact these have on their player record. Enforcement transparency is about giving players clarity into how their behavior impacts their experience.”

The first two infractions will result in a one-day suspension, three days for a third, seven days for a fourth, two weeks for a fifth, three weeks for a sixth, two months for a seventh, and then 365 days for an eighth.

But Xbox does not think it will get to that point. According to Xbox, fewer than one percent of players received a suspension, and only one third of those players received a second.

“Our data shows us that players typically stop inappropriate behavior after one enforcement, quickly learning what is and is not acceptable based on the Xbox Community Standards and how to better engage on our platform,” Xbox said. “The strike system is designed to further empower players to engage positively and appropriately on Xbox and with the community.”

In general, the system sounds quite forgiving, but that’s all part of the plan of “protecting players,” including allowing suspended accounts to remain functional for single-player games.

“However, for the most serious violations – including illegal activity – Xbox retains the ability to permanently suspend all functionality of an account including access to purchases,” Xbox said.