Featured Image Credit: Xbox
One of the more worrying things about this era of video games is the move away from physical media like discs, and towards all digital purchases that, whilst convenient, don't really feel very tangible in the grand scheme of things.
Whilst it isn't really possible for megacorporations to take our games off us if we have a boxed copy on our shelves at home, what's stopping digital games being removed from our libraries without much notice?
Equally, this potential problem doesn't have to come via nefarious actions from the big console manufacturers and PC storefronts, but instead, it's perfectly possible that technical glitches could leave us out in the cold the next time we login to play games.
Now, it seems some Xbox users are losing access to, not only their game libraries, but also additional linked services from Microsoft, including OneDrive and cloud storage for photos.
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Over on X (formerly Twitter), Jez Corden confirmed that he has been investigating reports around Xbox bans for years, and the consequences if players get themselves in trouble are genuinely quite frightening.
"I've been investigating these reports for almost a year now. When you get banned on Xbox for whatever reason (even if it's not your fault), you can lose not only your Xbox account, but also decades of photos from OneDrive, Office docs, etc. It's rare to get anything back," the post reads.
Given that Xbox accounts have been progressing across several generations of consoles at this point, player accounts have built up hundreds of games and years of progress in terms of GamerScore and other individual achievements (I know mine has).
I've been investigating these reports for almost a year now.
— Jez (@JezCorden) December 19, 2025
When you get banned on Xbox for whatever reason (even if it's not your fault), you can lose not only your Xbox account, but also decades of photos from OneDrive, Office docs, etc.
It's rare to get anything back. https://t.co/kXXp0mWLrA
It's also important to remember that you don't even necessarily have to do anything wrong to end up in a really bad place, with account hacking still an all too common occurrence in 2025.
In a post sharing that revelation on Reddit, fans were predictably freaked out by the idea that they could wake up one day and not have access to any of their games.
"It's not just Microsoft. We need legislation to force companies to honor digital purchases and create fail-safes to prevent full loss," one comment read.
"This has always been the case and the reason I still refuse to go digital. If someone hacks my account, I lose all my save data but at least I still have my disks. Its not just like this on Xbox either," another added.
The best bet for now is to make sure you set up 2-Factor Authentication with up to date details.
That'll give you the best chance of keeping people out, or getting your account back if they do manage to get in.
