About claiming gamertags on inactive acccounts

With the gamertag update last year, you can use a gamertag even if it's already in use, however, it will give you a suffix to differentiate you between the original. https://support.xbox.com/help/account-profile/profile/gamertag-update-faq

Otherwise, as long as it's still on the servers, there's no way for you to take it. 2021 would be the first time tags are freed up since that policy went in place, but even then, even if the game isn't in use on an Xbox, it may be in use elsewhere. So there's
no guarantee it will be freed up.

Per the terms of service, if a person does not sign into their account for 5 years, the account will be released.

Thanks for the quick reply, really helped. I have just seen rumors or heard about people being able to claim other gamertags that are somehow inactive, that is why I thought I would put my question out there. Thanks again.

Hey Spenceretro

Thank you for taking the time to let us know what info worked for you.

As there is no further info that we can provide to you on this matter, we will now be locking this thread.

If you have any other questions or concerns that differ from this matter, please, feel free to create a new thread and we will cater to you there.

Thank you for being a part of the Xbox Family and we wish you a wonderful day.

Hello,

Microsoft has stated previously that an account must be inactive for a minimum of 2 years before being designated as inactive. After that period, the gamertag can be reclaimed by a new account. Before then, there is no way to claim the gamertag if it is
linked to an account that has not been inactive for two years.

I hope this helps and sorry for the inconvenience.