How To Change Your Xbox Gamertag on Any Console in 2024
Reviewed by Huzaifa Haroon- A gamertag is your username on Xbox and serves as your identity in online games like Call of Duty and Fortnite. It's displayed as your name in these games unless you have a separate game-specific account.
- You can change it through your Xbox console or online. Select your profile, choose "Customize profile," enter a new gamertag, and confirm.
- Your first gamertag change is free. Subsequent changes cost $9.99 each. It's advised to carefully choose a memorable and simple gamertag to avoid frequent changes and associated costs.
Every gamer believes that their username is a part of their identity. But if you’ve only started gaming, you should know that your gamer name is of the utmost importance, as it has the ability to set you apart from the rest. Therefore, if you’re on Xbox, and had assigned a placeholder name for the time being, and are now ready to change it, here’s how to change your Xbox gamertag.
Table of Contents
What is a Gamertag?
On Xbox, the gamertag is basically your gaming username. The gamertag is used as your default name on online games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, Rocket League etc., unless you already have an existing account for the game with a different username.
READ MORE: How to Set A Custom Xbox Gamerpic – Easiest No USB Method ➜
How Can I Change my Gamertag?
There are 2 ways to change your gamertag:
- Directly through your console
- Through the web
Let’s look at each of these methods in detail.
Changing The Gamertag Through Your Console
Since the procedure for changing your gamertag can vary depending on the console model you own, we’ve laid out the steps for the Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One/One X and the legendary Xbox 360.
1. Changing your gamertag on your Xbox Series X/S
- On the homepage of your Series X/S, navigate to the top-left corner where you can see your gamerpic. Use the sticks and press A or just press the Xbox logo on your controller to open up the menu and move on to the next step.
Navigate to the top-left corner where you can see your gamerpic - From the menu, select My profile.
Select “My profile” - Next, choose the Customize profile option.
Select “Customize profile” - Then, select your gamertag on the left side of the screen.
Choose your gamertag on the left side of the screen - Lastly, enter your new gamertag. Make sure that it satisfies the requirements set out by Xbox i.e. up to 12 characters long (including spaces), does not start with a number, and isn’t something offensive. Every gamertag is unique so Xbox will tell you whether the gamertag you entered is unique or not.
Enter your new gamertag and select the “Enter” button to proceed - Finally, a preview message will appear, showing how your nametag will appear to others. Select Change gamertag to proceed and apply your changes.
Select “Change gamertag” All images in this section were sourced from Liakouras Momentz on YouTube.
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2. Changing your gamertag on your Xbox One/One X
- On your controller, press the Xbox logo as shown to open a menu on the left side of the screen.
Press the Xbox logo on your controller - Now, use your controller to navigate to the left until you reach the Sign-in menu. Select your profile from the options shown to you.
Access to the “Sign-in” menu and select your profile - Next, select the My profile option from the menu.
Select “My profile” - From the new menu, select the Customise profile option.
Select “Customise profile” - Next, select your gamertag on the left side of the screen.
Select your gamertag on the left side of the screen - Lastly, enter your new gamertag. Make sure that it satisfies the requirements set out by Xbox i.e. up to 12 characters long (including spaces), does not start with a number, and isn’t something offensive. Every gamertag is unique so Xbox will tell you whether the gamertag you entered is unique or not.
Enter your new gamertag and select the “Enter” button to proceed - Finally, a preview message will appear, showing how your nametag will appear to others. Select Change gamertag to proceed and apply your changes.
Select “Change gamertag” All images in this section were sourced from Foxy Texh Tips on YouTube.
READ MORE: When Did The Xbox One Come Out? [Release Dates] ➜
3. Changing your gamertag on your Xbox 360
- First off, navigate to the Social section and select the avatar that belongs to your profile.
Select your profile’s avatar | Coyup - Next, select the Change Gamertag option on the next page.
Select “Change Gamertag” | Coyup - On the menu that appears, select Enter New Gamertag. If you’ve already changed your gamertag once, you’ll have to pay in order to change it again.
Select “Enter New Gamertag” | Coyup - Now, enter your new gamertag. Make sure that it satisfies the requirements set out by Xbox i.e. up to 15 characters long (including spaces), does not start with a number, and isn’t something offensive. Every gamertag is unique so Xbox will tell you whether the gamertag you entered is unique or not. Select Done when you’ve entered your new gamertag.
Select “Done” | Coyup - If the gamertag you entered was not unique or did not satisfy the requirements, an error message will displayed. However, if all went well, you’ll be shown a confirmation message like this one. Select Yes, use this gamertag.
Choose “Yes, use this gamertag” | Coyup - A message will be shown that will confirm your gamertag change.
A message like this will be shown on a successful gamertag change | Xstevez
READ MORE: How to Delete Profiles on Xbox 360 ➜
Changing your Gamertag Through the Web
This method is more accessible as it can be done on any device that is capable of running a web browser.
- On any web browser, open up this link and sign in with your Microsoft account that is associated with your Xbox account.
Sign in with your Microsoft account - Next, enter your new gamertag. Select the Check Availability option to proceed.
Select the “Check Availability” option - Preview your new username before selecting Change gamertag. Select Back to go back and change it.
Select “Change gamertag” - Lastly, a confirmation message will appear. Choose Change gamertag to confirm your changes.
Choose “Change gamertag” - A message will be displayed for the successful gamertag change. It will take some time to implement the changes.
A message like this one will be displayed
Can I Change my Gamertag for Free?
According to Microsoft, you can change your gamertag for free only once. If you want to change it for the second time onwards, you’ll have to pay $9.99. You can change your gamertag as many times as you want, but you’ll have to pay 10 bucks every time. Therefore, make sure to only change it if you really want to. Make sure to pick out a good one, and if it’s already taken, add some numbers to it to make it usable.
READ MORE: How To Spot a Gamer – 12 Easy Signs for 3 Types of Gamers ➜
Conclusion
Gamertags are like your name, except you have the option of choosing this one by yourself. Therefore, make it something memorable and simple; something that allow others to remember you as part of the good old days,
FAQs
A gamertag is your Xbox username and your username for all online games associated with your Xbox account.
You can change your gamertag through your Xbox console or through any device capable of running a web browser.
You can change your gamertag as many times as you want, but you can only do it once for free. After that, you’ll have to pay $9.99 every time you need to change your gamertag.
Reviewed by Huzaifa Haroon
