Those who press a button on the Xbox controller at the wrong moment will automatically get banned. This can easily happen in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a great, but also very mature game. Some quests are not only quite cruel and brutal, but nudity also plays a role. This is not only due to the possibilities of displaying the characters completely naked – for example, during character creation – but also because of the sex scenes that are clearly intended for an adult audience.
However, these very scenes can become a downfall for players on the Xbox Series X|S, resulting in Xbox accounts being banned – with potentially hefty penalties.
Why the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 was no coincidence has been discussed here in detail:
What happened? In a post by “Daddy-Vegas” in the Baldur’s Gate 3 Subreddit, he shows some screenshots of notifications regarding his Xbox account. He received an account penalty for uploading some clips – for a hefty year.
These are gameplay scenes from Baldur’s Gate 3, which he describes as “naked fun in the camp.” Although the three clips were recorded in very quick succession, they count as a triple violation of the rules because they contain inappropriate content – namely the aforementioned nude scenes.
Daddy-Vegas actually wanted to record the clips just to show them to his brother and have a laugh together.
The consequence is that his Xbox account is banned until the end of 2024.
Why does this happen? The main reason is the default setting on most consoles. When a clip is recorded, which is possible with a simple press of a button on the controller, it is automatically uploaded to the Xbox servers. This is an option that must be actively disabled in the settings if one does not wish to use it.
Since this upload is enabled by default, the content is automatically reviewed, and in the event of a violation, it can lead to account penalties – which are relatively steep.
What are the consequences? Even a temporary suspension of the Xbox account can have a whole range of unpleasant side effects that drastically limit cooperative gameplay. These include:
- No games requiring an online connection can be played.
- Streaming rights are restricted.
- Video clips and screenshots can no longer be uploaded.
- Groups in the Xbox ecosystem can no longer be created or joined.
- The own profile cannot be edited.
- Communication with other users is restricted.
In the end, it remains to be seen whether it makes sense for content that is an integral part of a game to automatically lead to a ban when recorded. Microsoft will have to consider this carefully. Everyone else should ensure that their saved clips are truly stored locally and not accessible to the public – or you might as well just keep the heated love scenes to yourselves without saving them.
Regardless, you should consider turning off the automatic upload of clips. Otherwise, you risk falling into this trap if you want to capture a fiery night with Karlach or Gale for eternity.
How the two fantasy legends Frodo and Sam play Baldur’s Gate 3, you can see here.
