Microsoft has removed the option to buy games as a gift from the Turkey and Argentina Xbox Store after massive seller abuse.
The option to buy as a gift was offered for the sake of convenience to customers, but the system has been abused in order to acquire cheaper product keys from the Turkey and Argentina Xbox store, where games are relatively cheaper due to regional pricing.
However, now that it has been discovered (via) by Microsoft that the system is being exploited to sell cheaper game keys to people from other regions, the software giant has taken action by disabling the option to buy games as a gift on both the Argentina and Turkey Xbox store. It is not yet known whether this is a temporary or permanent measure.
Some Xbox users with access to digital Xbox stores in Turkey and Argentina have regularly made massive purchases as gifts, with the intention of reselling the codes after using alternate email accounts to receiving them in bulk. For example, if a game costs 35 USD, it can cost less than half of that in Argentina via these 3rd-party sellers. There is a bit of a catch involved with these codes, however. A VPN is required to redeem these codes that are meant for Xbox users in Argentina and Turkey. That said, those who buy these codes likely see this as a minor inconvenience, given the notable difference in prices.
In other news regarding Microsoft, the antitrust regulator in China recently rejected a “simplified” filing for review of the planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision by the software giant. Based on reports from traders, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) in China has rejected the “simplified” filing for review of the planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision by Microsoft. The regulators from China aren’t the first to scrutinize the massive video gaming transaction. Other antitrust regulators from around the world are also investigating the deal, and its implications.
