Xbox Live Gamertags are being recycled

Microsoft’s Major Nelson has revealed that almost one million Xbox Live Gamertags are to be recycled.

If you missed out on your desired username, you may have another chance to grab it. From May 18 at 7pm BST, these Gamertags will be rereleased into the wild. Provided you have an active Xbox Live subscription and at least 1 year of cumulative Xbox Live Gold tenure, you might be able to snag one of them.

Major Nelson explained that the Gamertags being released are from accounts abandoned from the original Xbox era. These accounts have been inactive for a long time, having never made the migration to the Xbox 360.

Microsoft won’t release the exact list of names, so it’ll still be a case of trial and error, but said that many of the Gamertags are in the following categories:

• Proper Names
• Pop culture references (Entertainment, sports, gaming)
• Types of Food
• Geography and Travel
• Science and Technology
• Math and Numbers
• Animals
• Some of the greatest inventions of all time

You’ll be able to change your Gamertag from Xbox.com. Doing so won’t affect your Gamerscore, Achievements, or your Friends list.