XR-013: Linking Microsoft Accounts with Publisher Accounts

FMA scenario severities

See the XR-013 reference for the underlying certification requirement.

013-01 Linking Microsoft Accounts with Publisher Accounts

Scenario	Severity	Platform
No current scenario.	Not Relevant (-4)
No current scenario.	Very Minor (1)
The title asks the user to re-enter their publisher account details when the title is launched without a connection to the non-Microsoft servers.	Minor (2)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title allows the user to unlink a publisher account outside the title, but doesn’t provide an indication on how to unlink within the title itself.	Minor (2)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title contains symbols or QR code blocks that redirects the user to an external website to find and view the Terms of Service, but doesn’t provide a clear indication that the QR code or symbol is meant for this purpose.	Moderate (6)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title doesn’t notify the user of the Terms of Service prior to the account linking process. See FMA Notes.	Critical (12)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title doesn’t allow the user to unlink a publisher account anywhere. Examples: via the title, via the web, via a third-party experience. If via the web, a relevant website must be indicated but this doesn’t need to be a direct link to the unlinking process, nor do we need to find the unlinking process guidance on the website.	Critical (12)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title doesn’t recognize that a publisher account has already been assigned to an XBOX profile when signing into another device.	Critical (12)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title asks the user to re-enter their publisher account credentials after linking a publisher account with an XBOX profile and then signing in on an additional device, or the same device again, or after restarting the title.	Critical (12)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title links publisher accounts to the device rather than the XBOX profile.	Critical (12)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title links publisher accounts to multiple XBOX profiles.	Critical (12)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title associates the linking or unlinking of a publisher account across all XBOX profiles on a device.	Critical (12)	XBOX One, XBOX Series, Windows
The title doesn’t allow publisher accounts to be created, when required to access core areas, on a Child XBOX profile.	Critical (12)	XBOX One, XBOX Series
No current scenario.	Catastrophic (22)

Notes

Terms of Service can be provided in-title or via direction to an external resource such as a website where a user can find the information. An external link doesn’t need to be direct to the ToS, nor under a specific game — the ToS simply needs to be available for the user to find.
Suggested unlinking probability of 4. Linking probability will vary with titles — for some it will be mandatory for any functionality, others optional.

Last modified on August 20, 2026

Related topics

XR-013 Linking Microsoft Accounts with Publisher Accounts XBOX Requirement test cases for PC and mobile games PC and mobile certification requirements and top failures XBOX Certification overview XR Failure Mode Analysis

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