In the Microsoft Account or Skype Account section, we’ve added a requirement that you must sign into the Xbox Services at least once in a 5-year period to keep the Xbox gamertag associated with your Microsoft account. We’ve also added that if your account is compromised, we may be required to disable access to certain content.

If a user fails to do so, he or she might lose access to the gamertag associated with the Microsoft account, and that gamertag may become available for use by other XBL users.

Don't see what the big deal is. If you don't sign in for that long, clearly you don't need it.

Outrageous!

Just kidding that seems ok. I wonder if users who got the 1000 year ban will be freeded this way.

Although, it seems if you die, that you could put your games and gamertag in your will.

Outrageous! this is horrible!

Microsoft is evil! Praise the holy company known as Nintendo! May Iwata-san save us from the pits of the corrupted Bill Gates.


/s

But what if you have bought things on xbox live? Do you lose all your stuff?

I guess sign in on the website counts? My power brick broke last year. I have no idea what my password is either, yet live.xbox.com is not asking for it. Must still be baked in a cookie. SvenZ is mine!
Ack, I still have $0.58 available, expires December 1st. Money goes stale too. (I actually thought it expired a long time ago, left over microsoft points from 2012 still hanging on)

It does... as does signing in on the W10 program like I do (it's always logged in, even when my Xbox One is unplugged)... 

People! Is just the tag, not the account.

When you log in after 5 years you will simply be prompted to created new tag to access you account again.

This policy is not even uncommon, and other companies even set 1-2years as the requirement. 

After 5 years, sometimes you don't even remember why you choose the gamertag on the first place. 

5 years seriously M$? Cheap tactic to get people to spend some money, Don't worry guys I have a chain message on Xbox that I can send to you where it states we do not give MS permission to do this, all you have to do is share the message to be safe.

A bit unfair on people who skip a generation and don't know this. What if someone converts from 360 to ps4 (of which there are many), skips the x1 but returns for the xb2. He may not realise this rule change and will lose his account.