Xbox pirate ban hits headlines

Microsoft yesterday cut off up to one million 360 owners playing on modded consoles from Xbox Live.

According to newspaper reports this morning – including a front page on Metro (pictured) – the platform holder has cracked down on gamers that have ‘violated their terms of use’.

The Guardian reports that the banning is part of a sweep that Microsoft carries out each November, when it blocks hardware that plays pirate games from its online service.

Sources estimate that anywhere between 600,000 and one million consumers were banned yesterday.

Microsoft said in a statement: "All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live."