Xbox Live Account Migration Tool Nutshells The Process

This week the folks at Microsoft have revealed a feature that should very well have been part of the ecosystem all along: the Xbox Live account migration tool. This process allows you to port your Xbox Live account from place to place with minimal hassle – that's country-to-country, mind you. The pieces of this puzzle you can always take with you are different from those that cannot move region to region – this being the reason why the tool has taken so long to develop.

What you're able to bring with you region to region is your Xbox LIVE profile, this including gamerscore and unlocked achievements galore. You can bring along time you've got left on your Gold membership as well as any Microsoft Points you've got saved up. The rest is really up to the region you're headed to. The following items may not (and most likely wont) be able to move with you:

1. Some services you use now might not be available in your new region. To find info about services, like TV providers, available in a specific region, visit the Xbox.com website for that region. (To find that other region's website, click the name of your current region at the bottom of any Xbox.com page.)

2. Xbox Music subscriptions can't be moved. If you have a current Xbox Music subscription, it will be cancelled as part of the move. Any subscription time remaining can't be refunded.

3. Some content may be blocked in the new region because of legal obligations or regional restrictions. Before you change your region, make sure you've downloaded any purchased content you want to keep, like movies or music. Content purchases aren't refundable.

This information comes from Microsoft itself, and a full Region Change Overview can be found as well if you've got some really, really specific questions or concerns. Some of the odd rules here include a limit of 1 region change every 3 months and the fact that you can change a child's account's region with a parent's account staying in the original region so long as the parent signs region change agreements on the child's behalf.

You'll be agreeing to a statement such as this: "Clicking 'I Accept' means that you have read and understood the effect of moving your account, including the pre-requisites and restrictions, as listed on the Region Change Support Page and have read and agree to the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and Privacy Statement" and it'll all be really, really simple from top to bottom to get from one place to another. If you've got lots of purchased content, you might want to think twice about moving.

This tool is live for all right this minute, so if you're about to hit the runway, get prepped at once! Head over to Account Migration at the Xbox LIVE webspace and make it happen! Also have a peek at the timeline below to keep up to date on recent Xbox Live goings-on here on SlashGear.

[via Major Nelson]