Whether you’re embarrassed by a gamertag you chose when you were a teenager (or younger), you’ve worn out the novelty of your current tag, or you initially chose a randomly generated gamertag and have only just thought up your perfect personalised profile name, to learn how to change your Xbox gamertag, you’ve come to the right place!
Simply follow our step-by-step tutorials to learn how to change your Xbox Gamertag either on the console or on your computer. For any additional information or unanswered queries, see our FAQs at the end of this article.
Table of Contents
How to change your Xbox gamertag from your Xbox One or Series X/S
- Power up your Xbox and sign in to the profile you wish to change the tag of
- Press the Xbox button in the middle of the controller to open up the guide
- Now, navigate to Profile & System, and choose your gamertag
- Go to My Profile and then go to Customise Profile; select your gamertag once again
- Now, under the Choose new gamertag section, input your new desired gamertag (the name you wish to change your current gamertag to)
- Note: Your gamertag can be up to 12 characters long, including spaces, and cannot start with a number; it also must not be offensive
- Once satisfied, select Check availability
- You may have to try a few different names or combinations before you find a gamertag which is available to you. If you receive a message stating “That name isn’t available. Try a different one.” then you’ll have to do so. You may also be offered a variation on your desired new gamertag which will have numbers attached to it, if you’re happy to do so, you can choose one of these.
- Once you’ve found a name that’s available to you, and you’re happy with how it looks across various Xbox platforms (which you’ll be shown, on the next page), click on ‘Change gamertag’
- You can change your gamertag for free only once, after which, you’ll be charged a fee for each change, via the payment method associated with your Microsoft account.
How to change your Xbox gamertag on the Xbox 360
- Power up your Xbox 360 and sign in to the profile you wish to change the tag of
- Press the Xbox button in the middle of the controller to open up the guide and scroll right to Settings
- From Settings, select Profile
- Now navigate thusly: Edit Profile > Gamertag > Enter New Gamertag
- Next you’ll have to enter your new gamertag, which can be up to 15 characters (only on the Xbox 360).
- If at this point you’re prompted to choose a new gamertag, it’s because the one you’ve tried to input is already in use. Keep trying until you find one free to you, which you’re also happy with
- Once happy, click Yes, use this gamertag
How to change your Xbox gamertag online
- Open up your preferred web browser and navigate to the Xbox website’s gamertag change page – https://social.xbox.com/changegamertag
- You’ll be prompted to sign in to your Microsoft account – do so by entering the correct email address and password associated with the Xbox gamertag you wish to change
- You’ll be redirected to a screen with a text box and instructions to enter a new gamertag. Your current gamertag will display in the upper-right corner of this box.
- Now, input your new desired gamertag (the name you wish to change your current gamertag to)
- Note: Your gamertag can be up to 12 characters long, including spaces, and cannot start with a number; it also must not be offensive
- Once satisfied, select Check availability
- You may have to try a few different names or combinations before you find a gamertag which is available to you. If you receive a message stating “That name isn’t available. Try a different one.” then you’ll have to do so. You may also be offered a variation on your desired new gamertag which will have numbers attached to it, if you’re happy to do so, you can choose one of these.
- Once you’ve found a name that’s available to you, and you’re happy with how it looks across various Xbox platforms (which you’ll be shown, on the next page), click on ‘Claim it’
- You can change your gamertag for free only once, after which, you’ll be charged a fee for each change, via the payment method associated with your Microsoft account.
And there you have it! Whether this is your first or thirtieth gamertag change, and whether you want to do so through your Xbox console or the Microsoft Xbox website, by following our simple tutorials above, you can quickly and easily change your Xbox gamertag.
For any additional information or queries,please direct your attention to the FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
What is an Xbox?
An Xbox is a home gaming console developed by Microsoft, who launched its first foray into the international video game console market with the original Xbox, in 2001. Since then, Microsoft have launched upgraded versions of the original console, as the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and now the Xbox Series X/S.
In direct competition with Sony’s PlayStation series, Microsoft’s Xbox contracts several different game development companies to produce games and game series (such as the stupendously popular Halo series) to be made exclusive to Xbox users only.
Since Microsoft are primarily producers of computer software, their gaming console hardware runs very much like a computer, and is designed to be readily compatible with computers, too – for example, in the Halo: Master Chief Collection, Xbox users can play online directly against Microsoft PC gamers. ‘Xbox’ is now an app that, along with its various services, has been integrated into Windows 10 directly.
What is an Xbox Gamertag?
Your Xbox Gamertag is your unique, personal profile name, which you choose when you first set up an Xbox account (i.e. when you first start up an Xbox console).
This is the name by which your online friends will know you, the name by which online competitive players will see you, and the name by which you’ll be added by various friends, or messaged by others, or which you will generally use in all Xbox-related communications.
In other words, it’s your username. This can be a personalized name you chose for yourself, or a randomly generated one which Microsoft has suggested for you.
There are limitations to the Gamertag you can choose – namely, it cannot breach Microsoft’s terms of use, or be offensive, and of course, it must not already be in use by another player. Microsoft will check this for you. Lastly, it must be no longer than 12 characters.
Why would I want to change my Xbox Gamertag?
There are many reasons why you might want to change your Xbox Gamertag. Perhaps you inherited an account from an older sibling or friend, and wish to personalise the gamertag to suit you specifically; maybe you chose a silly or randomly generated name years and years ago, and want to update it to something more you, now.
Or, maybe, you’re just feeling whimsical, pure, and simple. Whatever your reason, finding out how to change your Xbox Gamertag can be frustrating on your own; which is why we’ve created this tutorial to help you out.
Can I recover an old or accidentally discarded Xbox Gamertag?
Maybe you prematurely changed your gamertag, or you used to have an Xbox years and years ago, and have only just purchased the newest version, but want to regain access to that gamertag of yours. Either way, recovery is possible. If you’ve changed your gamertag, then know that you only get one free change courtesy of Microsoft, after which you’ll have to pay in the area of $10 per change.
To recover your old Gamertag, wimpy follow our tutorials above and when it comes to selecting your new gamertag, simply input your old tag. The only catch is, if somebody’s snagged it in the time it’s taken you to want it back, it will no longer be available to you. If, on the other hand, you still own the Gamertag, but haven’t used it in years, then theoretically you can recover it super easily.
All you have to do, when powering up your brand new Xbox, is navigate thusly: Guide > Profile > Sign-in > Enter your old Gamertag details (such as email and password) > Xbox/Microsoft will locate and download your Gamertag/profile onto your new console.
How often can I change my Xbox Gamertag?
Theoretically, as often as you like. However, Microsoft only gives you one free change (after you initially set-up your account/Gamertag profile). After this, each new Gamertag change will cost you about $10.
