Microsoft Disables Custom Xbox Gamerpics Amid Record Numbers

In a brief notice today, Microsoft revealed that it has temporarily disabled the ability to upload customer club pics, gamerpics, and club backgrounds. The company cites its 'record numbers' as the reason for the temporary change, specifically the way this aids moderators in evaluating and removing offensive images. It's unclear how long this change will remain in place.

As many people are spending an atypical amount of time indoors, they're often turning to video streaming services and online video game platforms. This has resulted in a strain on infrastructure, prompting a number of companies to limit traffic in certain ways. YouTube is defaulting to a lower video resolution on its global platform, while some other video companies like Netflix are lowering bitrates in Europe.

As well, Microsoft and Sony are among the companies that are managing game traffic to help balance bandwidth usage. Last week, Sony confirmed that it will be slowing down some game downloads in order to help alleviate the load on Internet networks, though multiplayer speeds will remain stable.

Internet traffic isn't the only issue, however. The huge uptick in the number of people who are playing video games also means that things like an increase in the amount of content that requires moderation.

In a statement on its Xbox Support website, Microsoft said that it is temporarily turning off the custom pics upload feature in order to 'streamline' moderation efforts. Put simply, this change ensures that moderators are able to stay on top of the large number of images that are being uploaded to the service, ensuring offensive and otherwise unacceptable imagery doesn't make it out to the wider community.