Confirmed: Xbox Live Gamertags are becoming more Discord-like

Major Nelson has confirmed that Xbox’s iconic Gamertag system will be changing in the future.

In the future, players will be able to change their name to whatever they want, no matter whether or not someone else has the same name as them.

If you choose the same name as another Xbox player, Xbox will simply add a three-to-four numerical suffix at the end. Games currently require this suffix to be displayed, but Microsoft may be working on that.

Those who wish to have their Xbox name turn up in their own language script will be pleasantly surprised. Xbox has been working on providing those who speak other languages a friendlier, homier experience. Gamertags will now be available in the following language scripts:

Basic Latin
Latin-1 Supplement
Hangul
Katakana
Hiragana
CJK Symbols for languages in China, Japan, and Korea
Bengali
Devanagari
Cyrillic
Thai

For more details, check out the full post on Xbox Wire.

Original Story:

Xbox are apparently going all in on changing things up, and Xbox Live profiles and Gamertags aren’t escaping unscathed.

Xbox Gamertags are apparently set to take on a more ‘Discord-like’ appearance, according to a report from Windows Central.

This funky fresh new system will allow Xbox users to have any Gamertag they desire, but with the catch that duplicate names with have a # and a number attached to the end.

The important part here is that you won’t lose your existing Gamertag. For example, if your Gametag is DianeYoung, it’ll remain DianeYoung.

However, if anyone else wants to be DianeYoung, they’ll be given a hashtag and numeric code, like DianeYoung#0175 or DianeYoung#1823.

One of the big pros of this system is that it allows users to express themselves without being forced to think of something unique and/or hilarious on the spot. It also allows for people with similar names to use their names without having to compete to be the #1 Lewis/Ash/Ezra/et cetera.

If you manage to come up with a Gamertag that no-one else is using, good news! You won’t be given the # and code.

Windows Central’s sources also say that this new system will allow non-Latin alphabet characters to be used to allow users to represent themselves in their local languages.

Changing your Gamertag will still be a paid service, though, to prevent people abusing the system, so make sure to mull it over before taking the plunge.

Xbox Live profiles are also getting a revamp. Windows Central’s sources have described the new profiles as ‘business card-like’, which most likely looks as fancy as it sounds.

The new profiles will also apparently allow you to include statistics from other gaming platforms, such as PlayStation, Nintendo, and PC.