Twitch streamer Joshua Khane has revealed that Microsoft recently deleted his account, which contained many of his purchased Xbox games and 25 years of stored data on its OneDrive. Joshua’s tragic experience has become a hot topic in gaming communities. Many are pointing to it as an example of how terrifying an all-digital gaming platform could be, especially since many believe Microsoft will eventually discontinue Xbox discs.
July’s most talked-about gaming topic has been Sony’s decision to phase out PlayStation discs in the near future. Many are worried that the company’s push toward digital games could mark the end of true ownership for gamers. After all, companies like Sony and Microsoft can erase a gamer’s entire digital game library with the press of a button, as Joshua Khane’s story shows.
Microsoft Confirms Ownership, Then Deletes the Account
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Joshua Khane’s story began when his account was compromised. He immediately asked Microsoft for help and was able to prove that he was the rightful owner of the hacked account. In an email addressing the problem, Microsoft stated, “We have confirmed that unauthorized access has occurred.” However, instead of restoring Joshua’s access, the company permanently suspended the account, preventing access to his entire digital game library and OneDrive data. Microsoft explained that the action was taken to “prevent further misuse.” The Dutch streamer claims his account contained thousands of dollars’ worth of digital games and other content, all of which are now gone.
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Even worse, he says his personal photos and videos stored on OneDrive were deleted without giving him a chance to back them up. According to Microsoft, the encrypted nature of OneDrive means even the company’s own engineers cannot recover the data.
Reflecting on the incident during his most recent Twitch stream, Joshua Khane said, “The thing that bothers me most is that the future is digital gaming. Sony is not making physical copies anymore… and then this happens.” Many gamers seem to share Joshua’s sentiment, saying his experience is a real example of how fragile digital ownership in the gaming industry is and how apathetic large companies can be toward users’ digital purchases.
Some fans have encouraged Joshua to sue the company, as other users have done in the past. However, he stated during his recent stream that he does not have the resources to take legal action against Microsoft. He also clarified that his relationship with Xbox Netherlands is incredibly good and that he only blames Microsoft for deleting his games and OneDrive files.
Joshua also said, “I got hacked. That’s on me.” However, he finds it unacceptable that a “trillion-dollar” tech company was unable to restore his account after he proved he was the owner. Aside from the email sent to Joshua, Microsoft has not commented on the situation as of this writing and is unlikely to do so. The email clearly states that the action taken against his account is in line with the company’s Service Agreement and that there is nothing he can do to reverse it. Considering companies can change their ToS at any time, many fans continue to be worried about an all-digital future.
Joshua’s experience also emphasizes the importance of security measures like 2-factor authentication. It appears that part of the reason his account could not be restored is that the hacker activated 2FA after compromising it.
