In the world of online gaming, a player’s username means a lot. It isn’t so much about how they represent themselves via in-game interactions or performance, but about how cool their gamertag sounds. Thankfully, Microsoft is about to make a ton of “AwesomeGuy5” or “XboxLiveRulez” hopefuls very happy, as the company is going to be making a ton of previously owned gamertags available once again.

Most of these soon to be deleted gamertags are leftovers from the first Xbox era, created during the first iteration of Xbox Live. Seeing the introduction of the Xbox 360 as the chance to reinvent themselves, much like Prince went to that weird squiggly thing, some gamers chose to let their previous Xbox gamertags waste away in limbo. With probably an overabundance of Halo-themed gamertags, Microsoft saw the potential in once again making these gamertags public.

Gamers who, upon hearing this news, wish to pick up one of the now available names need only pay the charge that is associated with registering a new gamertag. It’s a simple and painless little transaction and it could drastically improve how the Xbox Live population looks at you.

Hopefully, after this deletion, Microsoft can put together a comprehensive list of what gamertags are now available, as many gamers who were late to the Xbox 360 party might have missed out on the gamertag they were hoping for. Nothing is more depressing than having the same online username on all but one platform, or wanting to rep a gamertag that reflects your Call of Duty play style.

No word yet on when this mass deletion will take place, but gamers can expect that when it does Microsoft will be sure to at least announce the completion of the very daunting task. Until then, just keep hitting refresh to see if “MasterChief" becomes available.

Any gamers out there who were surprised to find their go to gamertag was already taken? Would you be willing to adopt a new, perhaps cooler, gamertag for a small fee?

Source: Examiner