Can you buy 18+ games and can’t chat?Xbox adds age verification mechanism in the UK

2025-07-31 21:34:35|Myriagame |source：minecraft skins

In order to cooperate with the newly issued Cybersecurity Act of the UK, Microsoft has deployed an optional age verification system locally.Starting from early 2026, UK users who have not completed verification will face some of the Xbox social features restrictions.

According to the official Xbox announcement, from now on, "all players who are registered at age 18 or above, who are located in the UK and logged into Xbox with a Microsoft account" will receive age verification reminders one after another.The announcement emphasizes:

"Starting from early 2026, adult players in the UK must complete age verification before they can continue to use complete social functions such as voice/text chat, game invitations, etc. At this stage, players who have not verified until the beginning of next year can still play normally, but their social functions will be limited to friend interactions by then. Verification will not affect the existing game library, achievement records or purchase permissions, but we recommend that players complete one-time verification as soon as possible to ensure that future social functions are not limited."

Ironically, game purchases are completely unrestricted.Underage users can still purchase 18+ games like "GTA5" through gift cards and other channels - but they cannot communicate online with strangers (but social interaction between friends is still allowed).Obviously, the system still needs to retain channels for minors to make friends through chatting and inviting them to make friends.

Verification methods include "government issuance certificates, AI age estimates, mobile operator verification and credit card verification".Microsoft promises that "verification data will be encrypted in industry standards and will not be stored or used for other purposes."Among them, facial age recognition was technically supported by Yoti, and even successfully identified Norman Reedus' game modeling face in "Death Stranding".

The UK Cybersecurity Act was passed during the Conservative Party's rule in 2023. The original effective date of July 2025 will ultimately be implemented by the current Labor government.Although the bill still has obvious loopholes in its main regulatory goals, it may become the forerunner of similar legislation in the EU, the United States and other regions - after all, the UK always "leads the trend" in "forward-looking regulation".

Microsoft said: "We will continue to evaluate global player protection programs and learn from the UK experience. Age verification will be implemented in more regions in the future, but due to differences in the situation in different regions, specific measures will be adapted to local conditions."

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