Microsoft will not unban Baldur’s Gate 3 players who captured explicit scenes

Earlier this year reports started cropping up of Baldur’s Gate 3 players being banned for capturing explicit scenes on their Xbox. Microsoft has now confirmed that this was not an error and the bans will stand. They advise turning the auto-upload feature off to avoid trouble.

To provide clarity on Baldur’s Gate 3 mature content enforcement actions, Xbox account suspensions are not automatic. Each clip is reviewed by a moderator and, if found in violation of our safety and content policies, actioned accordingly.

Our team evaluates appeals and can…

— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport) January 8, 2024

The problem arises not when users record the scenes, but when they are uploaded to Microsoft’s servers for easier sharing, a setting which is on by default. Microsoft has clarified that all uploaded content is reviewed by a team of human moderators and flagged if it breaches their rules.

How to turn auto-upload off on Xbox clip capture

As a solution, Microsoft recommends that people turn off the auto-upload feature if they plan on capturing any explicit content. Users do this by following these steps:

1. Press the Xbox button and go to Profile & System
2. Navigate to Settings > Preferences
3. Go to Capture & Share
4. Deselect the ‘automatically upload’ option

Xbox users are angry

The fact that Microsoft has made the choice not to reverse bans caused by this default auto-upload setting has angered a lot of users. Microsoft said that they can reverse ban decisions in some cases, such as in the case of a first offense, but many people do not think this is enough.

“Nobody should be getting suspended. Instead, users who block M-rated games in their family settings should not see clips from any M-rated games. Shouldn’t be any more complicated than that.” One user succinctly put it on Twitter/X. The Xbox support account seems to automatically respond to every message with the same response: “Please follow our official Xbox Support page to get a direct message regarding your questions and requests,” it said blithely to every complaint.

“Xbox support is a joke,” lamented one user. “Hello. Please follow our Official Xbox Support page on Twitter to be able to get a Direct Message regarding the issue you are encountering. Thank you!” trilled the robotic response.

This decision is just part of Baldur’s Gate 3’s fraught launch on Xbox, as Larian and Microsoft battle a save file-deleting bug plaguing users.

Featured image credit: Larian Studios

Ali Rees

Freelance journalist

Ali Rees is a freelance writer based in the UK. They have worked as a data and analytics consultant, a software tester, and a digital marketing and SEO specialist.

They have been a keen gamer and tech enthusiast since their childhood in are currently the Gaming and Tech editor at The Brig Newspaper. They also have a Substack where they review short video games.
During the pandemic, Ali turned their hand to live streaming and is a fan of Twitch. When not writing, Ali enjoys playing video and board games, live music, and reading. They have two cats and both of them are idiots.