The name "Karen" was secretly banned from Xbox platforms but no one at Microsoft was seemingly aware of how it was added to the censored list and it is now available to use once again. The name has become a popular meme in recent times to describe typical white women in a derogatory way, so this might offer some clues as to why the word had restrictions around it.
It's been a busy week or so for Microsoft. Last week, the tech giant finally revealed when the Xbox Series X will hit store shelves and how much gamers will have to spend to get their hands on one. In a series of announcements, Microsoft confirmed that the console will launch on November 10 and will cost $499. That means it isn't quite as expensive as some had predicted and will arrive just in time for the lucrative holiday season.
According to Eurogamer reporter Wesley Yin-Poole, Microsoft has banned the name "Karen" being used on any of its Xbox platforms. Yin-Poole noticed a thread in the subreddit for the game Wasteland 3 that mentioned a player was unable to name their character Karen. After some investigation, the journalist found that this was only an issue on Xbox consoles and affected other games as well. In fact, Reddit user Vole182 had pointed out that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare also banned the name on Xbox One. Wasteland 3 developer Brian Fargo explained that "the console's manage their own filters for input of names so we don't have control over that." This meant that Microsoft had actively put a ban in place. When Yin-Poole asked the company about this, a representative explained that they didn't know why the name was censored but that it would be removed.
Just before announcing the release date of the Xbox Series X, Microsoft also officially unveiled the Xbox Series S. This cheaper digital-only console has less impressive specs than its sibling but comes at a significantly reduced price of just $299. The Xbox Series S will also launch on November 10 alongside the Xbox Series X and include many of the same features, including ray tracing and quick resume for multiple games. Rumors have also begun to circulate in recent days that Microsoft might be planning on introducing a third next-gen Xbox console that will sit in between the Xbox Series S and X in terms of power.
Although the Karen meme has become widespread over the last few months and is seen as an offensive term by some, it is strange to see it added to the censor list that generally only deals with profanity or highly controversial terms and words. Even stranger is the fact that nobody at Xbox or Microsoft seems to be aware of how the word was banned in the first place. The fact that it has been reinstated so quickly suggests that Microsoft knows this was a silly move, especially with so many people actually having Karen as their real name