As the load on Xbox Live increases, while people stay home, Microsoft has been forced to turn off some functionality, as custom gamerpics for Xbox profiles have been temporarily shut off.
Xbox Live profile gamerpics have historically been customizable since 2017 and avatars customizable for some time; players could upload photos or make their own to customize their profiles using the Xbox apps. Unfortunately, as with anything customizable, these images have always needed to be moderated by a combination of algorithms and real people to ensure that the content of the images doesn't break terms of service.
With the sudden surge of users on Xbox Live due to the coronavirus distancing and quarantine, moderators have been scrambling to keep up. Microsoft reported a surge in cloud usage of over 700% and Xbox Live has also seen a massive rise in traffic. This has slowed both Live services and matchmaking online as well as overloading most of the existing infrastructure, making it nearly impossible for moderators to keep up with the influx of new images that need to be checked over.
The gamerpics will be down as Microsoft tries to streamline its moderation process on the Xbox, PC, and mobile as well. Players will not be able to use custom backgrounds, gamerpics, or club photos until further notice. "To streamline moderation and ensure the best experience for our community, we're making small adjustments. We've temporarily turned off the ability to upload custom gamerpics, club pics, and club backgrounds," Xbox Live Customer Support stated. With millions of Xbox Live users to check after and the massive surge of players online, Xbox is just unable to keep up with the unexpected numbers.
While this is sad for a lot of players, Xbox Live is not a platform for unchecked free speech, according to Head of Xbox Phil Spencer. There are a lot of restrictions on anything a player can customize, and algorithms can't check everything. With the surge of players and traffic, Xbox is well within its rights to keep people from uploading anything offensive in whatever way they have to.
It's not a surprise, considering Xbox Live has crashed three times this month with all the extra traffic. At the same time, many Xbox players will miss uploading new photos of their animals, kids, and other favorite things to their gamer profiles.
Source: WindowsCentral