Xbox Live Rewards Program to Offer Microsoft Points for Achievements

172
Lee Bradley

Of all the stories floating around the internet today, this one is tailor made for us. From this Autumn, the Xbox Live Rewards program will offer up Microsoft Points based on your Achievements. 

Yup, you read that right. While details of exactly how this will work have yet to be announced, the news comes direct from the Xbox Live Rewards Twitter account. "Coming Fall: a new way to earn Rewards based on your Achievements!,” said the tweet. Nice, eh?

Xbox Live Rewards is a service that offers up MSP in return for carrying out various tasks, like filling in questionnaires and renewing XBL subscriptions. However, it has never rewarded users for their Achievements before. You can find out more about Xbox Live Rewards here. 

We will, of course, bring more details once they are officially announced.

Comments
172
  • Any chance of it being retro-active?
  • Nice :)
  • What?!! I can't believe it!! Best Idea ever made
  • finally
  • 'Bout time
  • I totally hope you have to trade your achievements for the points, never to see them again.
  • That`s great :) !!!!!1
  • Please let this not be a US exclusive -_-
  • @1 You beat me to it. This should be retro active. At least for people that have been on Live for 3+ years maybe. I've been on Live for over 5.
  • YES! My 50grand GS will be put to some good use now!
  • I need to step it up and hit 100,000
  • Is this really happening???
  • I've been with this program for almost 2 years now, and my lifetime earnings are only 920 MSP. Compare that with the Bing Rewards, where I've earned AT LEAST 8000 MSP in the past 2 years, and you'll see which program is more worth it. This achievement thing is cool, but I somehow doubt it will reward me that much more than I already get, and $10 in 2 years isn't that much...
  • time to stock pile some easy 1k games i guess :) points means prizes :)
  • it prob be somethin stupid like 10msp for every 1000 gamerscore in the month of november, cant see em rewarding you for what you have already achieved, would be nice tho
  • Every little helps ; )
  • Seems obvious where this is heading. Won't be retro-active. Will only be on specific new releases with lengthy achievement lists.
  • I will see how this goes first and foremost..I don't think it will count the past stuff
  • I say it will not count previous achievements, because that's a lot of microsoft points. I say the system will be 100% complete you get 100 points, and little rewards like 10% 10 points, 50% 50 points.
  • i,m gonna wait to get to 50,000 now just incase its based on reaching the score after this was put in place
  • This sounds too good. I'd assume it would be something lame like having you buy a 800msp game then you get 80 back after you get all the achievements.
  • @13 I've been a member for about 2 years as well and done about 2200 MSP, so it's not bad really. And I REALLY hope it's retrospective! Lol.
  • holy shit the dream has finally come true!
  • That's cool but, I imagine we will be seeing even more hackers surfacing now.
  • @9 i dont think so because i have had an xbox since christmas 2005 (i got the gears one last year) but i didn't have the internet when i first had it, then when i got the internet i used my brothers account and then 2 years ago i started my own account, and your saying that i shouldn't be rewarded because i havent been connected to the internet the whole time, and i'm sure there are people who still don't have live but wish to be rewarded.
  • Too good to be true .. If they do it though then I'd agree with 19 on how it might be .. however I think he is too generous :P Will probably be like 25 points for completion cause yea, MS is that cheap
  • 100.000 gamerscore= 10.000 MS Points. Do I want it? YES! Will I get it? Nah, don't think so. Bet this will only be for Strictly MS games from then on, in combination with MS Looking Glass or something :)
  • I'd be willing to bet it's going to be a very small amount of points, like 40 MSP for every 1000 gamerscore you earn. That might even be a little high. Reguardless I suppose it's better than nothing at all. All I can say is it best be retroactive. Also, if it is retroactive I'd be willing to bet every one of us will be envious of Stallion83.
  • If this doesn't hit all regions, MS can go F*** themselves! Still don't have the normal Reward thingie here in Norway. Thanks MS!
  • 100ms points per 10k points seems fair
  • I'm going to be Rich.......... in Microsoft points!!!!
  • Guys, trust me. This will NOT be retro-active. It will NOT count your current achievements. That would be insanity. You guys use this site all the time, so you obviously know how many millions of Xbox Live subscribers there are and how many of them have 50,000+ gamerscores. To do it retro-actively would basically mean giving almost every single Xbox Live member "free stuff" (whatever that may be - whether it be MS points or avatar clothes/props. And Microsoft will definitely, 100% without a doubt, NOT do that on day one. It's just ridiculous to even think such a thing. It will work based on achievements you earn from the start date, whatever that date may be.
  • I doubt it will be get x amount of G and get X amount of points either, It will be heavily marketed towards playing set games. I guess mainly m.s studios games or other big titles . It will also be small amounts and have many walls in the way. @ 13 Thats us only Rewards is open to more.
  • This is fucking fantastic. But not for me. From Autumn I start Uni. God damnit. BUT, I'm happy all my achievement-whoring friends will be properly rewarded!
  • 1MSP per 1000GS probably ;)
  • how much for Seriously 3.0 ??
  • I fear that this will be just like the rewards program. Only available for people in 'important' countries. Everyone that pays for a gold membership should have the option of participating, regardless of location. Otherwise, why don't the countries that are not allowed to participate in these programs, not get reduced prices on gold membership?
  • I wonder if it'll bealong the lines of: Every 1K GS you earn nets you X amount of MSP or if there'll be a set amount of cheeves (say just 3 ranging from easy, med, hard difficulties) in a game that net you X amount of MSP per cheevo? Anybody else got any theories?
  • @24, was thinking the same thing......
  • I've literally waited years for this!
  • I guess it will be time for me and all the other people too proud to have played Avatar: Burning Earth to look for a copy to borrow...
  • Who's wasting their life now, everyone-who-doesn't-play-for-cheeves?
  • I'm willing to bet that they will designate specific new releases for this program and not getting any specific amount of achievement points, considering how easy that would be. I wouldn't get excited until I know exactly how this will work, but I'm sure the plan is to get people to go for achievements in big releases or new Arcade games that they want people to buy.
  • I can just imagine seeing people hack their achievements to get MS points!
  • i now have an excuse for playing avatar TBE
  • It probably will be limited to specific games and/or achievements. Of course, Gold Membership requirement will be a given. Plus, expect game and DLC prices to rise. I suspect what little we'll earn will be more than offset by increased prices.
  • Oh man, I so hope this is retroactive, because I have slacked off in achievement hunting as of late.
  • Unfortunately, it probably won't be much since microsoft I'm sure knows that people will by cheap easy games just for the achievements.
  • Please, even for Italy and not US only!!! :(
  • My understanding of how this works (I have an inside source)... is it will ONLY work for games purchased from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace (Games on Demand, XBLA) - AFTER the program begins! If you already own (i.e., already redeemed/bought) a bunch of XBLA & GonD titles... those are ineligible! I was just about to buy Dragon's Lair... I think I'll wait until the program launches!! I know that sucks... I own about 50 XBLA titles - most unfinished, and 3 GonD titles (and about 75 games on disc), and I can't earn any MS Points for them. :-(
  • Beat Ninja Gaiden 2 on Master Ninja and earn 1600 MSP. That would be cool.
  • shit i hope they give me points for time in! im already almost 87,000 deep...come on microsoft dont be dicks...
  • This was actually part of the trueachievements April fools. sure this isn't just a joke and are hey notgetting rid of msp soon?
  • Please make this happen outside of USA!!1
  • MS needs to clarify how this is going to work, and quick. If people go nuts grinding on their easier achievements and then it's announced that it only applies to achievements earned during a particular promotional period, lots of folks are going to be very upset.
  • Sounds fun. I think people are hoping for too much, though. I doubt you will get points based on how many you earn (and I really doubt it will be retroactive). It will probably be another monthly special thing: earn such and such achievement in the selected game and get 50 MSP or something.
  • US only for sure. Wanna bet? Anyone outside the US can ignore all news about Microsoft reward programs and save themselves some disappointment.
  • Yeah. More ms points for earning achievements.
  • Probly 80 points per entire game completed.
  • I'll be rich, RICH I TELL YOU!!!!!! (insert evil laugh)
  • Won't be retro active and will be us only I bet.
  • I am thinking more like 1msp per 1 achievement
  • I believe I read somewhere, that you will have to trade in unlocked achievements for MSP and it will then relock that achievement. Not sure if it will be obtainable again or not. I believe the latter.
  • It would be nice to cash in on some of the older games achievments I no longer play.
  • @63 i dont really see how that could work... also, this proably means no more easy games :(
  • Interesting. Though the devil is in the details; I can't imagine it's anything substantial. Prove me wrong, Microsoft.
  • Please dont go getting all negative and please keep it "ACHIEVPIMPIN'" P.S ...D.F-G.2.F-OFF
  • This will probably be on specific XBLA and big titles Microsoft release as another incentive for you to buy them. Just my two cents
  • Just BE sure 2 have 100K when this hits .
  • They just rewarding some European hacker who's going to hack your account and clean you out.
  • It'll be something like, "Buy Kameo, earn 200gs and get 20msp" or "Buy all of the Summer of Arcade titles, earn all achievement points, and we'll give you 200msp". Nothing like just playing to earn gamerscore for ANY game you want.
  • Already been said but this will definitely not for total gamerscore (thus not retroactive), but instead for earning specific achievements in specific titles (maybe Halo 4 will be the first?). And of course, the payout will be incredibly small.
  • You get sweet fuck all for Xbox rewards its not really worth bothering there's no way they're gonna give enough map for our g's
  • If it is anything like the other offers on the rewards site, then your current progress will not count. Example: If you already activated Netflix before signing up for the Rewards site(for me it was before the site existed), then you cannot get that reward.
  • Please be retro...that would be sweet!!!
  • We're Sorry. Unfortunately, you can't join Xbox LIVE Rewards right now. It's strictly because the program is not available in your country. Check back often as new countries are being added to the program. that's lame... :/
  • sounds good but tbh im on xbl rewards and its not really THAT beneficial as it is so im not gona get too excited over this til i see some details
  • @63 i doubt that is true, but if it is i better get searching for a copy of avatar burning earth.
  • It will probably be something useless like 10msp per 1000g, at most.
  • Well microsoft, more good news. Not only do we get the DOTW and xbox rewards system, but we also are getting rewarded for gaining achievements? Awesome! Even if the reward is miniscule, it'll be better than what we got now...nuthin!
  • You get 80MS pts per 500 achievement per month. 160 for 1000 achievement pts is the max per month. It was tweeted, then instantly taken down.
  • well its about goddamn time ive been saying this since 360 first released, and i agree with #1 im hoping its retro active cuz if so then ive got alot of msp comin lol but its good cuz now this will make it to where people strive even further to get those hard achievements cuz maybe they pay more points? who knows lol
  • Good thing I've been on this for a while. Bet we won't get that much for our investment of time into games, but anything will be nice. Plus it'll probably kick me back into my grinding 50-100+ points a day. Might also end up just a "complete a game - get X MSP" which I guess I'm fine with, too.
  • I hope that you can like trade in achievement points for Microsoft points like 10 msp for every 100 achievement points
  • I'm assuming this will have to do with what achievements you will gain, not what you have done. Perhaps a weekly or monthly challenge is the likely outcome, although I wish that I could convert my gamerscore for MSP. It's a step in the right direction, but I wish they did this a bit sooner.
  • If its true, as I will only belive this when it happens, it would have to along the lines of getting rewarded for unlocking specific achievements in new titles or as simple as unlock 100 achievements in the month.
  • What will they do? Increase the price of DLC. But this could turn out to be good or bad...
  • Now do they back date this to when I got my first gamerscore? It's about time us achievement whores were rewarded for gamerscore!
  • Finally, being an achievement whore (not a booster, I'm a high class whore who won't play Avatar damnit) will pay off! Pretty Woman here I come! :)
  • Willing to bet that it will be just like the netflix "use netflix reward" on xbox rewards and will only reward people after it comes out.
  • After using rewards for a year, I have about 500 MS points from it. Sadly, I don't think this achievement thing will reward me with anything much greater.
  • Fuuuuuuck this was my idea no joke.I was going to patent it but it cost to much fuuuuuuck.Was going to make a website also.
  • Be interesting to see how this is gonna work
  • First make the program available for everyone, assholes. Here we pay the same as others in other countries. On what does MS base, which customers are good enough to be awarded?
  • not to mention that you have to log in to xbox.com, choose join rewards program, then accept the legal stuff so after you can find out that you useless for them. they could promote a bit better how unequal their customers are.
  • The smart thing to do (which would probably make people mad) would be to only offer achievement --> MP for newer or select titles each week or month. In the case of newer titles, I am sure this would encourage people to buy these news games for the return of MP (maybe). Interesting though... Hopefully the plan is not as I describe.
  • wow, its been a LONG time since they did anything like this. years ago they did something of this nature that was sponsored by oldspice, and if you got a certain amount of achievement points in the time frame, they gave you ms points or xbla codes (or in some cases full retail games)
  • soo.. i should hold of playing new games till then?
  • OMG FINALLY!!!! I reason to actually earn achievements other than for completion purposes. Microsoft has announced something very beneficial today.
  • You people are dreaming if you think they'll award points just for playing games. There is going to be a catch and its one they can make a profit on. Wishing for anything more is rather naive.
  • Wonder what prizes will be given away...
  • Too bad they didn't start this when they launched the 360, that Stallion guy going for the 1 million gs would be dirty rich in MSP
  • This sounds pretty awesome. I've been using the Xbox Rewards Program ever since I was able to be a beta tester for it and I love all of the ways that it has grown and all the ways it allows people to get MS points. This sounds like an awesome addition.
  • WOOP FUCKIN WOOP
  • Im just waiting for the day where you can buy achievements with MS points!
  • Looks like Avatar the last airbender will be coming out again for everyone to get that easy 1k
  • If its related to how many 1000g games you can do, how many people will started brand new accounts lol. Either way, this is a nice bonus for us all.
  • @6 i'd trade my Hannah Montana cheevos for msp any day.
  • At a guess, it'll be for certain achievements, so as to avoid paying people for playing Hannah Montana.
  • My guess is you earn so many points for each achievement you unlock. Having to trade in gamerscore for points tho sounds rather odd. What value would giving M$ your achievements give for earning points ? It sounds more obvious giving you points for achievements you unlock down the road.
  • I highly, highly doubt it will be an open ended x points for y gamerscore. Instead, it will mostly likely be used as a carrot for people to play new, or at least selected, games. So if a game comes out in say, October, you will only have a set time, probably no later than the new year, to earn achievements in the game that would be rewarded with MS points.
  • YES! YES! YES!
  • lol, remember when they announced plans to can the Points system and replace it with real currency? Hopefully that stupid shit move is out of the picture.
  • I doubt it will let you use current Gamerscore. Considering mine is over 177K, I could get quite a few rewards!
  • I'm hoping with my now ~70K (not updated in a while) that it's retro-active, of course considering how much this will cost MS it's highly unlikely.... still fingers crossed!!
  • ive been in the program for almost 2 years. now that they are adding this, its a better way to earn microsoft points for all that hard work of getting achievements. they should of done this earlier since 2/3 of this world has more than 100,000 gamerscore.
  • This will be nice for us! Thank You! ^.^/
  • I don't think this is going to be as great as everyone thinks it will. I don't see how they would trade GS for MSP for the simple fact so many people rent and buy used games. They will probably start putting codes in new games, enter the code and get all the achievments in the game and you'll earn 50 MSP rewards. Remember MS still has to make money on the deal. It will be good for some people, but most of the people probably won't do it.
  • It will be ridiculous if they don't give them for past achievements, I'm on over 105,000 now (not sure why its hasn't updated on here), but I reckon that it will only be for new achievements.
  • probably for every 1000 gamerscore you get 10 MS points. Or for every 50 achievements you collect you get 10 MS points. Its not going to benefit a lot, its Microsoft after all.
  • I'm guessing that it will be for certain games only, not every game and definitely not retro-active, although I would love that.
  • hell yea, that's what im talking about. depending on how much they give out, i'll finally be able to get some stuff that i want since i dont like spending my money on stuff on the marketplace
  • When I first got my 360, I thought that achievements were worth something. When I found out that they weren't, I got pissed. Now I am happy!
  • 1$ for every 10G would be fine by me XD
  • God damned, make it avaible in every country so everyone gets a piece -_-
  • *GASP*
  • @13: That's your experience, meanwhile I've accrued about 2900 MS points through the XBL Rewards program. I started from the beginning, but still. You must not be on top of the promotions.
  • It's definitely gotta be 1MSP for every 1 Achievement point unlocked... Oh, and it needs to count your current gamerscore as well. I'd be rolling in points. So would many of you here!
  • sweeet finally these achievement have valve cant wait to get some points :D
  • this is so good. nice move mmicrosoft!
  • 4000msp for every 5gs
  • its probably something not even worth it like 10 points for a 1000 gamerscore
  • you will either have to reach a X amount of completed retail/arcade games. or reach a X amount of total Gamerscore for a single month, or X amount of games which have atleast 50% completion rating. ETC.. and whatever it may be, you will most likely earn barely enough to even notice, hence the fact that they are trying to make 1600 MS Points the new 800 standard that people are willing to pay. They had Arcade games for those who COULDNT AFFORD to pay for a full retail game, or even half of a retail game. and now within the past year they're has been a MAJOR jump from the normal 800 MS points for "Good games" to out of no where 1200 MS Points for "Good Games" and as of now we are seeing arcade games go for 1600 MS Points for "Good Games". and yet people still buy buy buy like the price influation isnt shit, but yet if this was a condiment that people ACTUALLY NEED like GAS then EVERYONE would be taking notice on how fast this has actually increased, and they wouldnt be standing for it. so i dont understand why people on Xbox are.
  • @121 Then i and others wouldn't even give a shit if they rewarded us with a worthless 10 msp per 1000g. it has to be higher then that.... surely. 300 or 400 points sounds swell to me.
  • i never received the rewards they supposedly gave me already, but this sounds great tho.
  • UGH!!! i hate that we cant edit. i meant 134. @135 What other games besides MineCraft has that 1600 price tag? none from what i can see, if i'm wrong feel free to correct me. the only reason it sold that much is because most people already have it on PC and already knew what the game was about and wanted it on xbox. if it was some other type of game it wouldn't have sold nearly as much. i doubt they will try to do it again, and if they do. the game won't sell well. unless its absolutely amazing and refreshing.
  • I cant wait cuz i'm sitting close to 180,000. However i can bet that there will be a limit on what u can earn
  • Unless they have thought this over really well, it is going to be exploited.
  • If its a trade kind of deal, is trade the games that hold my completion back.... Blue dragon? Good game, but to time consuming.
  • Great news especially since I just hit 70k a few hours ago. :)
  • @135 That's quite a stretch. How do you figure MS is trying to make 1600 pts the new normal XBLA game price? One game has been 1600 pts this year, Minecraft, and it's that price because of the more frequent updates it will be receiving and the fact the game is more expensive on the PC. There is no evidence or facts that support your theory of MS doing what your suggesting.
  • avatar TBE SELLS 1000% LOL EASY 1000G game evaaaa
  • I bet the cheevies in question will be online multiplayer or very lengthy. Whatever happens I'll still not play Avatar, or King Kong, and sports games still rarely interest me. Of course this won't create an increase in the use of exploiits or hacking. :P
  • With so many achievement whores surely this will cost them a bomb.
  • Yeah i don't think it will be retroactive unfortunately :( which is a shame because my 90,000 gs will be pointless,however It's a positive step forward from Microsoft I guess...
  • it does strike me as a good idea but then, it will probably usher in a pretty bad time where basically everyone is just playing a game because they want achievements for points and everyone will just become even bigger achievement whores! still I have a nice pile of achievements which I can hopefully get some ms points for!
  • Sweet! I just hope this will reward us for achievements we have already earned and give us MSP based on milestones we've reached and 100% game completions...........rather than start anew with all the FUTURE achievements we may earn. Excited! (hope I understood this right lol)
  • Hahaha i knew it so much comments on such an article ;) it would be great if you could get something for your earned gamerscore ^^
  • @141 that is a wicked idea. I too could remove Blue Dragon (135) from my account along with Rumble Roses (20)!! Furthermore I would actually PAY MS to remove certain games from my GC.
  • I would be very surprised if this really was to happen. But anyway, I can't join in on the fun as it is not available in all countries :'(
  • I thought it would be a good idea for a second. But think of it from there perspective, we go out and buy more games to get the achievements which makes them even more money. Also they probably wont let you use your previous achievements towards it
  • just wait and see kiddies.
  • @128 But how much did you SPEND to accrue that much tho?...
  • But...I love my gamer score. :(
  • This is a terrible idea. Now, instead of playing games to have fun. We play them to earn achievements. Soon, instead of playing games to earn achievements. We'll be playing them to earn achievments to earn rewards. I can see this going bad real quick. GS hacks, exploits, and mods. This really, REALLY isn't a good idea. Which is why, even though it's been kicked around for years, it never happened. Is microsoft seriously trying to ruin everything about gaming these days?
  • How this is retro-active. Otherwise you will multiple "fake" accounts will with King Kong and College Hoops 2K6 to just get the Microsoft points. I assume it will be something like for every 1000GS you get 100 MSP, around 10% of the score. Hopefully it is is not 10MSP per 1000gs, that would really hurt them.
  • Agreed, not the best idea but still... i'll take the points!
  • I'll be glad to get more out of my achievements.. Other than bragging rights, maybe more Microsoft points for the harder achievements..
  • sounds good. can't see it being very generous tho. so far the rewards thing is just a little extra points. i can see it as a way to promote new games, like maybe you get points for achievements gotten in a game the first month it is released. anyway, hope it's not like that, yay, more free stuff
  • When the 360 first came out I thought this is what they meant/you could do, with your gamerscore. Swap it for ms points. How I was mistaken.
  • That sounds really fun! Will make earning achievements even more like a game in itself.
  • they shouldnt wait till you get 100msp to put it in your account with this. they should give em to you as soon as you unlock the achievement with the rewards points attached to it!
  • @163 That is EXACTLY what I thought too. I remember getting achievements in Call of Duty 2, and seeing my score at around 500 points. I then saw the marketplace and tried to buy a 400 point arcade game. I was really confused when it said I had 0 Microsoft points, so confused that I called the support line. Memories.
  • @157 It's actually a fun idea. i would be worried if this was the PS3, people can hack all their games and Sony doesn't/wouldn't do shit....unlike Sony, Microsoft gives a damn about our achievements. and will ban those morons eventually. so if they wanna risk getting banned for a small reward let them lol. can't keep letting those losers spoil my/our fun. I'm sure Microsoft will figure something out.
  • I really hope we get something besides avatar clothing.
  • About time, once rewards system came out I was dissapointed because I taught we would be rewarded for playing games bit more rather than just purchasing things on XBL. This is a good idea.
  • If it is retroactive, then would it instead take into consideration how many achievements someone has, rather than their overall achievement score? The article doesn't say of getting Microsoft points due to score; just achievements.
  • Would we have to get the achievements back by doing it again?
  • ugh...too late i suppose. If they would take into account all the cheeves ive already earned, id be very happy. But I dont really achievement whore any longer.
  • Thank god my disk tray is broken, every game I have is directly off the Marketplace. (;
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