The big Xbox Live ban which was rolled out by Microsoft blocked access for up to a million Xbox 360 owners who had modified their consoles. Modded Xbox 360s can play pirated games and Microsoft was obviously keen to crack down on the practice so they banned those users. The chipped Xbox 360s are permanently banned so users who want to get access back to Xbox Live will in theory have to splash out for a new console.

The timing of the ban was suspicious and has led to legal action. The contention is that Microsoft deliberately timed the ban for the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 because they knew the game would bring in a huge amount of sign ups and traffic for the Xbox Live service. A Texas law company named Abingdon IP is trying to persuade banned users to join their planned class action suit against Microsoft. They are also seeking banned people who haven’t been refunded their subscription fee.