Lets be honest; you open an account online with every intention of making use of it, and a short time after you end up forgetting it either existed. We’ve all been there. It looks as though Microsoft are going to close down Xbox Live accounts as well as Microsoft-only account that have remained inactive for a period of two years.
When will Microsoft begin to close down Xbox Live accounts?
Microsoft will begin to close down Xbox Live accounts from next month on August 30th so if it’s something you reckon you still need access to it’d be worth logging into the account putting it into an active state.
The likelihood is if you haven’t used one of the accounts for such a long time then you probably never needed it in the first place. So duplicate or dead accounts are essentially what’s being targeted here. If you want to reactivate the account you can simply login, make a purchase, install an app or sign up for a subscription. More is detailed in Microsoft’s activity policy.
Microsoft won’t close down Xbox Live accounts that have an active subscription like an annual Microsoft Office or Xbox Live membership so you won’t need to worry about this. If one of these memberships have expired recently it’ll mean you get two years from the date of expiration before an account is deemed inactive.
You won’t see Microsoft opting to close down Xbox Live accounts that have a balance attached to them either. If you have an account that has credit (even pennies), or you’re awaiting a refund from them then you’re also good to go. If you have family members that piggyback of your main account and they’re active (sub-accounts) then you’ll also be fine as long as the child account is active. Microsoft certifications linked to your account will see the account remaining active indefinitely as well as publishing content on the Microsoft Store.
Those mentioned are the main reasons Microsoft will avoid wanting to close down Xbox Live accounts, so if you tick one of the exceptions above you should be fine. Check out the Microsoft accounts page for details on when (or if) your account is going to be closed. It’s worth checking to be on the safe side.
I guess grabbing Xbox game Pass for PC would work too…
