Epstein files: Why was Jeffrey Epstein banned from Xbox Live? Email shows Microsoft removed him from online gaming service
Emails included in the Epstein files show that financier, rapist and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was once banned from Xbox Live.
The latest set of documents released in relation to the investigation into Epstein, who died in prison while awaiting trial in August 2019, have shown Andrew Windsor on all fours over an unidentified woman, that his former wife Sarah Ferguson describing him as the brother she “always wished for”, and that allegations were made against President Trump through the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center hotline.
These documents, periodically being made public by the US Justice Department, are trawled through relentlessly by the media and interested parties - who have found a bizarre gem of information hidden in Epstein’s emails.
On December 19, 2013, Epstein received an email from Microsoft via his personal address, informing him that he had been banned from Xbox Live. Now replaced by the Game Pass service, Xbox Live was the subscription service required to play online multiplayer games on the Xbox 360.
At that time, the big multiplayer games included GTA V, Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA 14 and Battlefield 4. It is unknown if Epstein had been playing any of these games, or what his online username was.
What we do know is Microsoft banned him for “harassment, threats, and/or abuse of other players” and described the conduct as “severe, repeated, and/or excessive.” That language appears to come from a standard enforcement notice Microsoft sends to banned users and did not include details specific to Epstein.
A second email sent later the same day elaborated on how Microsoft removed Epstein from Xbox Live because he was a registered sex offender.
In 2012, Microsoft joined a partnership led by the New York Attorney General aimed at removing registered sex offenders from online gaming platforms. The follow-up email states that Epstein’s suspension was carried out under that initiative, which was designed to reduce risks to other users, particularly children.
“This action is based on the New York Attorney General’s partnership with Microsoft and other online gaming companies to remove New York-registered sex offenders from online gaming services,” the email read.
Epstein became a registered sex offender in 2009 after serving a 13-month jail sentence for solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of prostitution involving a minor. Records included in the release indicate he created his Xbox Live account in 2012, suggesting the account remained active for about a year before Microsoft took action.
Additional emails referencing Xbox appear in the files, though they do not make clear whether Epstein personally used the service or if the account was created for someone else.