Summary

• Some Xbox users are receiving indefinite bans for using VPNs to exploit regional pricing differences.
• Microsoft does not explicitly forbid VPN use but may be cracking down on users abusing VPNs for cheaper purchases.

Some Xbox users are reportedly receiving indefinite bans for making game purchases via virtual private networks (VPNs). This purported development has prompted some calls for Microsoft to revise its community standards and make it clear what kind of VPN use is and isn’t allowed on the Xbox Store.

From avoiding ISP throttling to enhancing privacy, VPNs have long had useful applications in online gaming and elsewhere. However, using them to exploit regional pricing differences for cheaper purchases is against many online storefronts’ terms of service.

Microsoft might have now started cracking down on such VPN applications in the Xbox community, to the point that some users are facing indefinite bans for spoofing their location data. Global price comparison website Xbox-Now recently began warning users against buying games in countries where they are extremely cheap, citing several examples of people being banned after purchasing an Xbox game via a VPN. However, the exact reason behind this recent wave of sanctions appears to be more complicated than a blanket VPN ban.

In early March 2025, a Twitter user claimed that their Microsoft account was banned because they were using a VPN to switch their Xbox Store region to Argentina. A screenshot of the email they received from Xbox support indicates that the ban was due to exploiting extreme regional pricing differences by purchasing products from foreign storefronts. The email clarifies that VPN use itself is not prohibited by the company. However, the user noted that even taking advantage of regional pricing differences is not explicitly prohibited by the Xbox Community Standards, leading them to call the cited rule “fabricated.”

True to this user’s claim, Game Rant found no mentions of VPNs in the latest version of the Xbox Community Standards for the United States, which was updated in May 2024. However, the Xbox Store has dozens of regional variants, each subject to its own set of guidelines communicated in its target language.

The situation has already prompted some social media users to call for clarity on Microsoft’s VPN policies, which some see as too vague.