Microsoft Bans One Million Xbox Live Players

Microsoft Corp. has barred a whopping one million gamers from its widely popular Xbox Live gaming service over suspicions that they have altered their gaming consoles to enjoy games illicitly downloaded from various file-sharing sites

According a story released by Information Week, the software maker has taken this stringent move amid the release of its "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2", the company’s most anticipated game of the year.

Announcing the move, the software giant said in a statement: “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”.

Incidentally, Xbox 360 consoles are integrated with Digital Rights Management technologies tailored to detect illicit software, but some of the gamers have reportedly managed to successfully modify their consoles to evade DRM safeguards.

Consoles blocked by the company from Xbox Live will still work if games are played offline, but the banned players won’t be able to login to their accounts, or engage other members of the community over the web.

The Xbox Live gaming service from Microsoft includes as many as 20 million members, according to the company.