March 1st 2011 7:23 pm PT

Xbox LIVE Gamertags go zombie and rise from the dead

 

Starting today, we have begun the process of making previously used and unavailable (dead) Xbox LIVE Gamertags available. This process will take some time to complete, and no we can’t tell you when the Gamertag you want might be available. If you are interested, you should check back regularly as we are reviving Gamertags daily.

Sign into Xbox LIVE and go to the My Xbox channel, then select Change Gamertag. From here you can either choose from the random name generator, or you can enter a specific Gamertag to see if it’s available.

 

Changing your Gamertag does not affect your Gamerscore, Achievements, or your friends list.

 

Xbox 360 By Larry Hryb, Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson

permalink: http://majornelson.com/2011/03/01/xbox-live-gamertags-go-zombie-and-rise-from-the-dead/

Newer Comments →
  • BC5389

    Is this on the Xbox site or through the dashboard?

  • Exu

    In other words, you’re deleting gamertags created for the original Xbox Live?
    Heard a rumour about this the other day but it does sound pretty cool. What doesn’t is the 800pt chage for changing your tag.
    Now I know why it exists, and I’m not going to be changing mine, but I do think everybody should get one, not just people whose tag was randomly generated. Maybe open it up to everyone once these tags are revived for, say, 90 days?

  • Treythalomew

    This has been going on for at least a week because my friend got back a gamertag last week that he had on the original xbox.

  • KP ScuzzyBunny

    Tempting…but 800 points for vanity with so many good games and DLC on the way? We’ll see. Do we get 5% back on changing our tags or just on “content” (the rewards site was vague).

  • Sgt TEDDYBEAR

    I’m good with the tag I’ve had since Live came out. I can see where this is great for people who, for some reason, had to change when they got a new xbox.

  • tabicat

    How do you determine whether a gamertag is dead? I’ve abandoned a couple gamertags back in my original Xbox days before there was such a thing as gamerscore.

  • makinmagic3

    You can check if a gamertag is not taken on Xbox.com by

    1) Copy ‘n paste this link
    http://gamercard.xbox.com/MyXbox/Profile?gamertag=

    2) At the end of “gamertag=” put the gamertag you are after.

    An example is http://gamercard.xbox.com/MyXbox/Profile?gamertag=Major Nelson

    However if the page does not load to the required profile it may or may not of been taken. It may of been taken by a Zune user.

  • Jessfest

    There’s gonna be some great names showing up soon. :)

  • angryfacing

    Awesome! I hope I can get the tag I always wanted from the start!

  • angryfacing

    By the way Major,
    What counts as a “dead” gamertag?

  • HypnoticPenguin

    Excellent, would like to grab my original Xbox gamertag again just for fun!

  • teknomusik

    This should be free for gold members… at least once a year similar to the transfer content licenses feature.

  • leebrownhill

    I agree actually with the above comment, what does ‘dead gamertag’ actually mean?

  • chiruno99

    I don’t understand, completely, nor have I ever wanted to change my gamertag.

  • Shinji257

    I have people on my list that change theirs regularly. I actually wouldn’t mind dropping the numbers off the end of my gamertag but the guy that has it had grabbed it back in ’07 and hasn’t been on since. (S)He may be using it on the Zune side but there is no gamer score. It is definitely not being used on Games for Windows and not on Windows Phone 7 though.

  • LanerGT

    Will we ever be able to create gamertags that start with a numeral?

  • Vice Destroyer

    If I was quick enough, I’d go for Tupac Shakur. I’d love that gamertag.

  • noey jerd

    The name I want to change to is still “not available” :(

    I checked. The name is taken but it’s someone with 0 achievements and 0 game plays. Hurry up and let me have it! Heh.

  • TheExMascot

    @noey jerd My name is still not available either. I made an account on xbox.com before I had a 360 and, when I finally got one (which I didn’t expect to get one), I couldn’t go back to the other name because I lost the fake email address I registered it with. Now, which all this gamerscore, I’m not sure if I want that original. Name.

    Definitely like the suggestion someone made of making gamertag changes free once a year for Gold members. Wow, “gold members” sounds so wrong.

  • Coth 1888

    C’mon major 800 points is a bit steep for a gamertag change. how about 400 for gold members?

  • excommodog

    Can someone confirm whether it is/isn’t possible to change gamertag via the computer and not having to be in front of console. Thanks

  • r3dreck

    Lost my orig gamertag from the orig xbox when I went to the 360, couldn’t recover cuz the email I hooked it up with wasn’t around any longer. I don’t want to play 800 points tho to get it back.

  • NikOPE Jims

    Is it possible to ask you to delete a certain dead Gamertag right now if we are willing to spend 800 Microsoft points right away? I have a MS Points card in my hand waiting to be used. =D

  • Anti 007

    Would love to see an example of a “dead” gamertag…

  • Major Nelson

    I’ll get e to discuss ‘dead’ tags on this weeks podcast

  • Anti 007

    Thanks Major

  • xTHE MAC GODx

    How about allowing, at least, periods? Everyone is using periods nowadays instead of dashes or underscores, even in phone numbers…

  • FinderKeeper

    First people were complaining that they weren’t able to get a gamertag they wanted because it was taken but the account was “dead”…

    …and now they’re complaining that it costs 800 msp, which is what it *always* costs to change a gamertag *regardless* of whether the title you want is a dead one or not.

    Two pieces of advice for y’all:

    (1) Don’t associate your gamertag with a fake/dead e-mail account. If you change to another e-mail, you need to change that in your account information ASAP, before you forget, and aren’t able to log into it, losing the tag in the first place was *your* fault.

    (2) There’s NO guarantee you will recover an old Xbox gamertag you once had if someone else gets to it first.

  • CuddlyClamShot

    Wow, so pay ten bucks same as always? How is this “new” whatsoever?

  • Goodeye84

    Major is this going to clear out old names that were on the Xbox that havn’t been signed into in over 3 years? I ask cause the name I wanted was used by someone and the last time they logged in was 2006 they havn’t used the account since.

  • Goodeye84

    @CuddlyClamShot

    The only new part is they are freeing up these previously used gamertags.

  • angryfacing

    Alright, cool. Thanks Major!

  • teH B4Tm4n

    what days the podcast? and this is some good news.

  • omgzoomj

    Hopefully you also mention the amount of time this will take overall. Kotaku said check over the next few weeks.. I still see my old dead Xbox 1 Live account which I’ve never been able to resurrect. My only intention is to remake that gametag anyway. None of this 800 points to rename crap. Tried this afternoon and XBL now cannot restore Xbox 1 gamertags. My account still exists as a page per a previous link to check for live gamertags. So yeah… Waiting I guess.. I just hope NOW is finally the time I can revive my dead Halo 2 48 hours trial account.. Used my real intended gamertag and never wanted to pay permanently for XBL and certainly not after having to switch gamertags over something so trivial.

  • Killateral DMG

    I hope the account I never got to put on xbox gets wiped so I can have my name.

  • Darth Pman

    Waiting for mine to be available. It’s worth paying 800pts for a tag that you will use for the rest of your life.

  • Mr Barrel Roll

    I agree with the above. I don’t get the dudes who change it, like, monthly, but changing it once and then keeping it since it becomes AWESOME is alright with me, and probably worth the cost (just wait for, like, MS Points as a birthday present, or something.)

    Look at mine. It used to be ‘chrism312′ and now it is AWESOME.

  • newskillz x

    This is kinda cool. I lost my tag from beta because I cancelled my live sub for 1 month right before 360 came out. Really weak that I couldnt get it back. I still use the same email and all. Anyway I just added an X and moved on with my life. I’d rather have another arcade game.

  • xBiNiaRiSx

    Pretty lame that this has taken microsoft like 5 years to finally figure out.

    I’m still irritated that my old account was “lost forever” due to it not being active/paid when the new live launched. Basically “we’re sorry but your name that you registered is no longer available. We are going to hold onto it, not delete it, and make you register something different. In 5 years we’ll delete it and let you pay us $10 if you’d like it back.”

    Those of us that had out old accounts frozen/disabled should get a discount for changing back to our original names.

  • BluStorm3D

    @excommodog… you can only change your gamertag on the console.

  • theonlyand

    When you say “[Microsoft is] reviving Gamertags daily” is that to say that Gamertags will be only be revived and become available for further use during Microsoft’s business hours? Because I know a couple of my friends who will spend all their nights for a couple of weeks just checking and checking and checking these Gamertags. It would be nice to know somewhat of a timeframe as to when they’re actually being revived.

  • TidalPhoenix

    When does ‘Major Nelson’ gt become available ;)

  • teH B4Tm4n

    is it going in ABC order or is it just random?

  • aG Ratchet

    What if you never get to the dead gamertags we want? Can we make a request?

  • Goodeye84

    I’m really hoping you guys are clearing out old tags regardless of Xbox 1 or the Xbox 360. Like I said before the tag I want hasn’t been logged in since 2006, and they guy isn’t using it, he doesn’t even have an avatar for his tag. Clearly he isn’t using it.

  • rjcombo23

    “I’ll get e to discuss ‘dead’ tags on this weeks podcast”

    As part of that discussion, I’d like to request a clarification of whether original Xbox Live gamertags (pre Xbox 360) will be revived as well. I was unable to migrate mine to the new service when the 360 launched, and have been waiting for over 5 years to get it back.

  • ScrufDeeOhGee

    yeah, some sort of timeframe and the ability to request would be great. My xbox 1 GT has been dead for a long time.

  • HTAZ

    I like this idea, I just do not like how someone already grabbed my original gamertag that I had for two years on the original XBOX. I hate how I lost it because I was deployed and couldn’t recover it on the 360 in time.

  • aG Ratchet

    My original gamertag is still dead, so I’ll have to wait for it to go nazi zombie.

  • KaosKameleon

    Will old Zune gamertags be available too??

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