- Xbox now requires age verification according to the UK’s online security law
- Microsoft says “Starting early next year”, some Xbox -Social features will only be limited to friends in the UK unless the age verification is completed
- Players will need to use a government’s -id, passport, credit card or other forms of identification to complete the process
Microsoft has announced that it will require age verification for the continued use of Xbox Social Features under the UK’s online security law.
In a new Xbox Support Post, Microsoft said: “As part of our compliance program for the UK Security Act and our ongoing investments in tools and technologies that help ensure age experiences, we introduce age verification for Microsoft accounts in the UK.”
The company explained that players over the age of 18 who do not confirm their age between now, and the beginning of 2026 can still play their Xbox console, but “starting early next year”, certain social traits will only be limited to friends unless the age verification has been completed.
Currently, accounts that belong to players 18 and above are being asked to verify their accounts and will begin to see messages that encourage them to verify their age. This is an optional process for now, but it will change at the beginning of 2026.
Until the age of an account is verified, users will only be able to use voice and text communication, party functionality and game invitations and user-generated content such as activity feed.
Without age verification, it is not available to look for group and custom clubs.
“If you have an existing account or create a new one, you may be asked to verify your age using Yoti, a trusted and secure third -party identity verification service,” the post reads.
There are several ways to verify identity, including with a government-issued photo ID, such as a passport, residence card or any other government-issued identification document with the user’s image of it.
They can also use a live photo, ID verification, a mobile number to verify age through their carrier and a credit card control.
“Whether a player verifies their age will not affect any previous purchases, rights, gameplay history, results, or the ability to play and buy games, but we encourage players to verify their age via this one-time process now to avoid uninterrupted use of social features on Xbox in the future,” Xbox vice president of Gaming Trust and Safety Kim only in a separate Xbox Wire Post said.
“As this age verification process is rolled out over the United Kingdom, we continue to evaluate how we can keep players all over the world in safety and learn from the British process. We expect to roll out age verification processes into more regions in the future. There is no one-size that fits all solution to the player’s safety so that these methods can see different across regions.”
Xbox is not the first platform affected by the UK’s online security law. Reddit and Discord have also implemented New Age verification systems to access 18+ content; However, players are already around Discord’s tools by using Death Stranding‘s photo mode.
