Why does it cost so much when you want change your gamertag?

Because its not an easy thing to navigate databases and change usernames in an already complex system that has been growing since the original Xbox Live service started. So may as well monetize the change. Especially when they continually add and update their systems. Even if they were able to automate it - someone/people were paid to figure it out.

Your original gamertag still exists, but the new name will override the “displayed” name. Similar to how Discord can have 1million “Grey Ghosts” but the actual account name is “GreyGhost#123456789” internally.

This is how Sony also handles changing your PSN ID.

Lack of competition.

Anyone want to guess what the first MS game I had to register an account for was?

https://social.xbox.com/changegamertag

Not sure about XBox Games, but at least on Steam you can change your profile name as often as you’d like. I think I’ve had 20 permutations of inside jokes about CSGO over the past year.

That being said, the account name is pretty much unchangeable, but no one can actually see your account name.

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That´s just like when buying hardware labelled with “Gamer, Gaming, Pro-Gaming, Ultra-Gaming”.
One has to pay lots and lots of money for everything gaming-related :smiley:

And you want to change a GAMERtag, and not just some cheap internet username…

GTA4 for me, and while I never played Bioshock I might guess as that for yours :wink: (Trick question?)

Ahh… the days of “Games for Windows Live”… what a terrible thing that was. Glad to see it gone.

Yeah, my Steam account is almost 20 years old and the log-in name is an old e-mail address that ceased to exist about 15 years ago. Back then you couldn’t have a log-in “name”, it had to be your e-mail address. The young 'uns don’t appreciate how lucky they are :wink:

I haven’t yet used my free MS gamertag allowance. I want to, but thinking up internet nicknames was never my strong suit, especially as it’s effectively a “name for life” :laughing: One day…

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Luckily I got my first Steam account way later - after the release of the best game ever, Doom 2016.
(And we will always remember the dark days 2020 when Doom has died and became some stupid potpourri Super Mario wannabe shooter with the most SHIIIIIIII… level-design - and even worse gameplay - I have seen in years.)

In 2016 it was already possible to add a personalized account name to Steam, but for reasons it is not possible to change that name.

That´s why one should always think some time and choose wisely, instead of getting the phase of enlightenment too late:
“meh Joe_4rtw45t45a645 is a stupid name I want to be known as Demon Slayer 665 or Zombie Hunter 2000, or something cat- or Witcher3 related, but it´s impossible to change that name!” :smiley:

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