Xbox confirms Baldur’s Gate 3 suspensions are “not automatic” after player backlash

Unfortunately for Xbox players, there seems to be a bit of conflict between the game’s more adult moments and Xbox’s shared content guidelines. Following one player’s year-long ban for clipping nudity, Larian Studios responded and promised to investigate.

Xbox Support has responded via Twitter to explain why Baldur’s Gate 3 players are being suspended following speculation of an automation mishap, Xbox Support confirmed that the suspensions were moderated and intentional.

[Snookies12]

If it's automatic, it's stupid. If it's not automatic, it's still stupid. Either way, it's stupid and shouldn't have happened.

[GamerRN]

It's full frontal nudity. Why would you post that?

[BrainSyphoned]

And Moses said "forget the shall not kill crap, just don't show them titties and we cool."

[SO71D]

@GamerRN I’m guessing nudity offends you?

[DarXyde]

Better question: if it is an issue, why wouldn't Xbox require the game to be censored before being published for the platform?

This is kind of a weird entrapment scheme. You're allowed to play it, but you're not allowed to upload something from content you greenlit to be available on your platform. If Larian had to delay the Xbox version, couldn't they just tell Larian, "hey guys, before you publish BG3 on Xbox, we need you to either censor the game or block specific scenes from being uploaded".

Instead, there are no restrictions on the content being available and it is possible to upload, but you'll be punished for it. What? Look at it this way: if Playstation started banning people for uploading Persona 5 clips, that would be bad. However, Atlus themselves BLOCKED scenes from being recorded/uploaded. That was a personal choice. Larian was apparently not privy to the bans until it was brought to their attention. So this is Microsoft allowing the content uncensored and punishing you for uploading something you're allowed to upload. That's just bad practice.

[Huey_My_D_Long]

Why not?
I can post sniper and head explosion kills, a bullet going through 3 bodies, and me violated VR corpses with weapons, but suddenly dick and balls or tits and vag then thats when i've gone too far?

[gold_drake]

oooo
so they are deliberate. good to know.

[GamerRN]

Can you post nudity on PlayStation?

[BrainSyphoned]

No but you can be a tool and fool on N4G

[Einhander1972]

This is funny because in another thread a week or so ago you were all up on my back because I brought up Microsoft in some article you guys were all dogging on Sony over.

I believe I was pointing out that when Microsoft had leaks they were full of proof that things that Phil said were proven to be fake, while Insomniac's leaks had nothing like that.

Another not-a-fanboy in action.

[GamerRN]

I actually own both consoles and post things both ways.

I find it funny how fanboys react differently when you comment on their system.

Microsoft people try to explain the situation.

PlayStation fanboys attack you and insult you.

In the end, the way people defend companies in attempts to attack others is ridiculous and I don't remember this growing up with other consoles.

[gold_drake]

no ones posting nudity on anything. people are screenshoting or taking videos and thats why they're being banned for.

the game provides those things and ppl shouldnt be punished for it.

they're not being punished for it on playstation, if you wanna play it that way.

[Einhander1972]

GamerRN

Great way to follow it up, how predictable the old "I'm multi-console gamer therefor I can do no wrong and am never a huge hypocrite"

xbox fanboys are on another level...

[GamerRN]

Einhander,

Bro, I own both, like it or not, but I certainly can do wrong.

I play multiplayer games and online games on Xbox because that's where my friends are and I like the party chat and online better there.

I play PlayStation for incredible exclusive like Spiderman, God of War, and Horizon (which I'm still finishing Forbidden West, and still need to buy Ragnarok, I'm behind).

You can say what you want, but this fanboy mentality is ruining games, just like it does with Apple and cell phone etc.

People attacking each other is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Gaming used to be a community, even during the Sega vs Nintendo era, we didn't hate on each other, we just had our preferences.

Games are made to be enjoyed, just enjoy them and respect each other.

Now this is the part where you mock me for something else....

[shinoff2183]

Gamers, that's notbtrue at all. You have people like that on both sides. One side isn't full of people that are innocent. Nice one though.

[GamerRN]

I never said innocence, but one side definitely is more aggressive than the other.

[jambola]

That's.....so much worse
Why would you admit to that?

[shinoff2183]

Good to know.

[dumahim]

Yep. So someone took 3 short clips from a single scene and got 3 strikes adding up to a year ban. Admitting it wasn't automated makes it look much worse.

[GamerRN]

So wait, PlayStation let's you post full frontal nudity?

[frostypants]

Dude stop spamming. Get a grip.

[GamerRN]

I've made my point, and you know it

[jambola]

no idea what they allow
not relevant either

[CrashMania]

I think the root of the problem is the stupid auto upload and having to opt out of it, rather than opt in.

[dumahim]

Playstation doesn't automatically upload your captures by default

[isarai]

We're not incompetent, we're stupid AND incompetent, get it right!

[GamerRN]

Thank God Sony allows full frontal nudity postings!

[Samonuske]

PlayStation doesn’t have a system that would automatically upload the video for anyone to see, I used to think it was a worse feature than Xbox’s but atleast I’m not at risk for getting banned. Or losing all of my saved footage.

[CrimsonWing69]

I'll tell you what, Microsoft makes it harder and harder to find their platform desirable. I think GamePass is awesome, but it's stuff like this that makes me question why I'd play things on their platform when nobody else is dealing with this.

[GamerRN]

I know! I love my PlayStation because they allow me to post full frontal nudity and graphic sex scenes constantly!

[P_Bomb]

PlayStation wasn’t stupid enough to enable automatic server uploads.

[Profchaos]

Actually it's funny you say that remember when PS4 launched and they had a camera function you could stream yourself playing to randoms out there then one porn company started live streaming over this which resulted in the feature being shut down basically in the launch window

[CrimsonWing69]

We're talking a full year ban for showing content that's in a game that was allowed to be on the platform. Why can you show some M rated content and not others? Oh, because bewwwwbs and butts and PG-13 sexual content makes you feel so insecure about yourself? Not even Twitch bans you for streaming a game with this content and they're ban crazy lunatics on that service.

Where's the consistency, either ban all M rated content from being shown on your platform or don't allow the game on your platform if the content is against your policy.

I know you're trying to take the piss out of it, but let's be real, this is one factor out of several that make Xbox less enticing to support for gaming. A few of the others, for me personally, are uninteresting first-party exclusives, not allowing cloud save data to be managed, and the lack of third-party support that the other get.

I'l give them props on Gamepass and eventually, whenever they get to releasing exclusives from the incredible amount of studios they own it might be even better, but as of this moment... nawwww, I think Xbox is the bottom of the big 3 or 4 if you include PC.

[shadowknight203]

Why doesn't Xbox implement a feature that doesn't allow the sharing of specific sections In a game?

[mkis007]

Ya, I mean ps5 has that, but I think the dev has to implement it.

[GamerRN]

The Dev has to do it. Cyberpunk stops you from posting it.

[Abnor_Mal]

I said this the other day and got disagrees, they should and could add a system like how Knack on PS4 would suspend recordings when a cutscene was playing, and when you found an item.

[Profchaos]

Yeah I remember playing the ratchet and Clank remake and they wouldn't allow you to record any of the cutscenes as they had the movie coming out alongside it and that was basically movie footage.

So yeah it's technically possible I guess

[dumahim]

The problem isn't that there's nudity in the game. You can take the clothes off and have the characters running around nude the entire time if you want. I don't think there's that much control over when to disable captures. It's pretty much an on/off switch built into the game for cut scenes. The problem is MS setting the auto upload of those captures by default and having no warning system in place to let people know they shouldn't include nudity. I always assumed the stuff went to my onedrive account for online retrieval. I had no idea that stuff can be seen by others.

MS needs to be clearer about what is going on, perhaps giving a confirmation message to upload before uploading M rated game stuff or just don't have M rated game content be shared by default. MS set up the system and zero safeguards and then punishes the player.

[Einhander1972]

I don't believe them.

I think they are just saying it wasn't automated because they told people that every case would be looked at by a person when they changed their rules a few months back.

And even when they were made aware of it people were still getting banned which indicates it was automated because they couldn't change the algorithm, if it was humans they could have just told people to stop banning video from the game.

[TheColbertinator]

If Microsoft wants censorship then I support them.

[anast]

This group is dysfunctional.

[jznrpg]

I don’t believe them but if it is true that means they are investigating and then choosing to ban players.

[JBlaze226]

What is funny is that we knew about the auto sharing feature on the xbox for some time now and knew that sharing content always has strict guidelines no matter what console your on.

[P_Bomb]

Something like auto-sharing shouldn’t be on by default. It’s just setting ppl up for trouble.

[Profchaos]

I always hated that I never share anything then one day I was playing MCC on my Xbox one and accidentally shared a video clip just a boring run down a hallway of a campaign level and it took me forever to figure out how I did that and delete it

[dumahim]

I never knew anything that got uploaded was shared in any way. I always thought it went to my onedrive account and that was it.

[Profchaos]

So it's a video game platform and ms built a share button then they got mad when people used the share button to share legit game content as they intended.

Sounds more like Microsoft should fix their parental controls and detection on the share functionality rather than blaming people for using a functionality that they built.

It boggles the mind sometimes remember when the Kinect would penalise you for swearing at your tv this feels like that

[BillyCrystals]

Objectifying women and exposed skin is wrong, evil, and scary. That's why I loved Starfield; completely unsexy and woke.

[Crows90]

Okay. It seems like many are just daft. If people find out Microsoft allows frontal nudity in captures on their platform...that opens a can of worms in a way that allowing violent depictions does not come close to. MS is not some morally superior company. They do this to prevent bad press that extends way beyond the gaming industry.

Sexuality is a delicate thing. Just because you're perverted to all hell doesn't mean that somehow it becomes equal to violence. And even if they could protect children so to speak or other individuals from seeing that type of content the fact that it's on the platform and being recorded is the problem because it doesn't matter the truth at that point it's the fact that it exists