Microsoft has disabled the ability to upload custom gamerpics on Xbox One, in an effort to “streamline moderation” during coronavirus lockdown.

The move comes as the tech giant sees “record numbers” across Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Live and game streaming platform Mixer, as people look for ways to socially connect online.

A custom gamerpic is an image players on Xbox One and Windows 10 can upload to their profile, which is moderated to ensure they do not break community guidelines.

In a notice on the Xbox support page, Microsoft said: “To streamline moderation and ensure the best experience for our community, we’re making small adjustments.

Microsoft
Microsoft says it is working to deliver higher-bandwidth activities during off-peak hours (Niall Carson/PA)

“We’ve temporarily turned off the ability to upload custom gamerpics, club pics, and club backgrounds.”

The company warned that refund processing has also been hit, with potential delays of up to 72 hours.

Performance and usage trends are being monitored with “proactive steps” to plan for high-usage periods, Microsoft added, working with publishing partners to deliver higher-bandwidth activities like game updates during off-peak hours.

Elsewhere, Microsoft said that its cloud services have seen a huge surge in demand, with an increase of 775% in regions that have enforced social distancing or shelter-in-place orders.

Teams, its business communication tool, now has more than 44 million daily users, generating more than 900 million meeting and calling minutes daily in a single week.