Spicy Scenes From Baldur's Gate 3 Cause Xbox Bans [Update: Larian Answers]
The freedom of morals prevalent in Baldur's Gate 3 proved distasteful to Xbox's internal system, which blocked the account of one player who unknowingly posted clips from the game featuring nudity on the console's server. The web exploded with comments.
Update
The situation described in the original post was commented by Michael Douse, publishing director of Larian Studios. In a message on X, he wrote:
"We’ve seen the reports that some players got banned or otherwise faced issues on Xbox having uploaded screenshots/videos of their ‘gameplay content’. We’re in discussion with Microsoft, and we’re looking into it. Annoying and uncool."
Original message (January 2)
Anyone who has played Baldur's Gate 3, knows that the game by Larian Studios gives ample room for role-playing - not only in the dialogues, but also in the broader sense.
Unfortunately, the freedom BG 3 offers, does not go hand in hand with Xbox's internal systems, which control the content on the console's servers, and operate under strict guidelines.
Ignorance of the regulations hurts... badly
Reddit user Daddy-VegasAbout learned about Microsoft's draconian solutions for content posted on the company's platform the hard way, when he recorded short clips from the game and was about to face a year-long ban of his console account..
The case is all the more interesting because the videos, which allegedly contained naked characters from the game (for which one does not need to rely on any special or unauthorized tricks), were intended to go only to Daddy-Vegas' brother.
The protagonist of this news, however, was unaware that the recorded clips - one by one - by default also go to the console's public server, where they are subjected to verification.
The case would certainly not have gained such publicity, if it were not for the fact that our unlucky man, instead of recording one long clip breaking community standards, decided to save three separate videos in quick succession, which the system flagged as a repeated offense, thus contributing to a year-long account ban - and without any warning.
Daddy-Vegas has already announced an appeal of the case, warning other platform users not to record clips from the game on Xbox - unless they want to get "banned."
Gaming community lashes out at Microsoft over absurd regulations
The case of Baldur's Gate 3's community member has triggered an avalanche of comments and reactions online. The vast majority of users speaking in the discussion began to point out the absurd regulations, which instead of serving the good of the players, harm the community members.
"This should not even be possible. It's a Microsoft-approved medium, so everything you record should be "okay." If they have a problem with the content, it's 100% their fault. There shouldn't be any forbidden recordings in a game that they think is allowed."
"This is outrageous and unbelievably dumb! Any content for ages 18 and up should just be specifically labeled. How can they ban you from using a feature they provided in a game they sold you. Hopefully they will realize what they have messed up and reverse this decision. We're keeping our fingers crossed for you."
Some gamers have criticized Microsoft's policy that one of the biggest "crimes" in video games apparently is showing nudity.
"It's funny that you can record a blowing up tank or the mass murder of a platoon in a bunker without a problem, but you're not allowed to show your privates."
"Xbox: allows an adult game
Gamer: records video of mature in-game content
Xbox: How dare you post such FILTHY STUFF on our servers!"
It's worth noting that Baldur's Gate 3 is not the first game in which recording clips can contribute to a ban on our Xbox account - as reported by some of those commenting on the matter.
"I made the same mistake with Attack on Titan (which doesn't even have any kind of inappropriate nudity) and I couldn't appeal. It is so annoying that they automatically block your account instead of letting you know that you should remove this content."
If you are a user of newer Xbox systems and prefer to blow off some steam, fearing that you will accidentally record something inappropriate while playing, which will end up on Microsoft's servers, I recommend you disable the option to automatically upload clips.
You can find the problematic feature by going into the console's settings, selecting "preferences" from the list, and then going to the "capture and share" subcategory from which you can disable the option to automatically upload videos to the server with one button, protecting yourself from a possible ban.
