Xbox to Require Age Verification in the UK

In compliance with the UK’s Online Safety Act, Microsoft is soon requiring Xbox players to verify their age. As of July 28, 2025, the feature is optional, but will become mandatory beginning early 2026. Microsoft is partnering with Yoti to implement age verification software. The prompts will be displayed when players sign into an Xbox account in the UK. 

The early 2026 date is based on the estimated time of complete integration of the Online Safety Act, which is scheduled for October 2025 to March 2026, according to the Ofcom UK website. The ambiguous date was referenced in Xbox’s official news update blog regarding the policy. 

UK players who do not verify their age will not be able to access social features on Xbox, including voice or text communication and game invites, but they can continue to play and enjoy Xbox. Their social features will be limited to friends only until the age verification process is complete. 

“Whether a player verifies their age will not affect any previous purchases, entitlements, gameplay history, achievements, or the ability to play and purchase games,” Kim Kunes, Vice President of Gaming Trust and Safety at Xbox, commented. 

“However, we encourage players to verify their age via this one-time process now to avoid uninterrupted use of social features on Xbox in the future.” 

Xbox plans on learning from the UK process so the company can evaluate how it can keep players around the world safe. The company expects to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future, but these may look different across regions and experiences.