Up to 1 million Xbox users are switching on their consoles to find they can no longer connect to Xbox Live although they will still be able to play their Xbox offline.
What has happened is that Microsoft has permanently barred consoles that have been modified to accept pirate games. The only way that people with modified boxes will be able to connect again is if they buy a brand new console.
Those who are worried that their profile will be lost forever if they buy a new machine can take some comfort though.
“Users of banned Xbox consoles can recover their profile to another, unmodified Xbox 360 console to resume their Live service,” the firm told BBC News.
“The banned console will be unable to connect to Xbox Live.”
The latest move is part of a strategy implemented by Microsoft to crush the increasing and widespread problem of piracy.
The timing of this move has obviously got something to do with the new game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 which was released earlier this week and which has already sold more than 4.7 million copes with 1.23 million in the UK alone.
A statement from Microsoft says “We can assure you that if an Xbox Live member follows the Xbox Live terms of use, purchased a retail copy of Modern Warfare 2 and played the game on an unmodified Xbox 360, no action will be taken,” said Microsoft.
“All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live,” Microsoft said in a statement.
“The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them.”
However, not all users who have modified their boxes have done so with the intent of playing pirated software.
Some have done it in order to make back ups of games they already own and some have done it to be able to run programmes and games that are not exactly official but which are perfectly legal.
Reports are already circulating that there will be a workaround to the ban before too long. You’ve got to admit, avid gamers are unlikely to just give up and concede defeat are they?
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The timing is too close to the release of modern warfare 2 to be coincidence, the biggest game release in history!. I have a suspicion they are just trying to cope with the demand onlive (you could imagine it falling over with that many going online on mass.
Co-incidentally, when the previous biggest game (Halo 3) was released, Microsoft did the same thing, just on a smaller scale.
Microsoft say thay do this every november, which is traditionally seen as the month big games come out ready for christmas.