In an effort to deal with toxic players, Microsoft has adopted a new punishment system on Xbox based on “strikes”. The literal translation would be “strikes”, but in reality these are warnings that carry temporary punishments and that when a certain amount is accumulated they can end ban the player for up to one year.

It’s not hard to understand, as the image Microsoft shared of how this new penalty model will work on Xbox is very clear. Behaviors such as insults and cheating will mean “strike” while inappropriate sexual behavior and harassment are added two strikes. Hate speech will directly imply three strikes.

If a player collects one or two warnings, he will receive a one-day suspension, if he collects three warnings, the suspension will be for 3 days. The severity of the sanctions is greatly increased thence with a blockade of 7 days with 4 strikes, 14 days with 5 strikes, 21 days with 6 strikes, 60 days with 7 strikes and 365 days with 8 strikes.

At first glance, it may seem that the system is too long and complex, but in fact everything can scale very quickly and it is quite simple. The punishment offenders receive is ultimately decided by the moderators, and can be up to three “strikes” per offense. Toxic players are likely to commit several of these violations in a single dayand many of them can easily end up receiving all 8 “bets” on the same day.

I don’t think adding more punches unnecessarily complicates the system, quite the opposite. A model adopted by Microsoft It’s very simple, it clearly contains penalties for each level of “stakes” and at the same time explains the amount we can add for each offense, so generally there is no objection.

I remind you that when a player gets banned, he is not prevented from using his console. The ban only applies to certain online services, such as multiplayer. In other words, toxic players are isolated so they stop bothering others. Microsoft did not consider a permanent block, but the truth is that nowadays being without access to these services for a year can already be considered a rather severe punishment.

As some of our readers may remember, Microsoft already incorporated a reputation system with the arrival of the Xbox One that aimed to distinguish between good and bad players, meaning that the Redmond giant has long been aware of the problem posed by toxic players.