You cannot sign in to a game account

Sign-in problems range from a typo to an account someone else has taken. Rule out the simple causes, then follow the recovery steps if anything looks changed.

Quick answer

Start here

Confirm you are on the publisher's official sign-in page or launcher, not a link from a message.
Use the official "forgot password" option and check your spam or junk folder for the reset email.
If the email address or password on the account has been changed without you, secure your email account first, then contact the publisher's support through its official site.

Password rejected or reset email never arrives

Check which email address you used. Many people have more than one, and older accounts may use an address you rarely check.
Look in spam, junk and promotions folders. Automated reset emails are often filtered.
Wait a few minutes before requesting another. Each new request can cancel the previous link, so clicking an older email may fail.
Check how you first signed up. If you created the account by signing in with another service, such as a platform or social account, there may be no separate password to reset. Use the same sign-in button you used before.
Check Caps Lock and keyboard language. A changed keyboard layout can alter symbols in a password.

Two-step verification codes do not work

Two-step verification, also called multi-factor authentication, adds a code from your phone or email to your password. If codes are rejected:

For authenticator apps, make sure the phone's time is set automatically. Codes are based on the current time, and a clock that is out by a minute or more produces codes that are not accepted.
Make sure you are using the code for the right account. Authenticator apps often list many accounts with similar names.
For SMS codes, check that your mobile number on the account is still current.
If you have lost access to the phone, use the backup or recovery codes you were given when you set up two-step verification, or follow the publisher's account recovery process.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre recommends turning on multi-factor authentication for important accounts. Its guidance for individuals at cyber.gov.au explains how it works and how to set it up.

The account is locked or suspended

Accounts may be locked after several failed sign-in attempts, after sign-ins from unusual locations, or for breaking the game's terms. A lock for failed attempts usually clears after a waiting period stated on the sign-in page. For anything else, the publisher's official support is the only route. No third party can unlock an account, and services offering to do so for a fee should be avoided.

Someone else has taken over the account

Signs include a changed email address, a password you did not change, items or currency missing, or messages from the publisher about sign-ins you did not make.

Secure your email account first. Whoever controls the email can reset everything else. Change its password and turn on two-step verification.
Change the game account password if you can still sign in, and sign out of all other sessions if the game offers that option.
Contact the publisher's support through its official website. Explain what changed and when, and give any proof of ownership the publisher asks for, such as purchase receipts.
Change the same password anywhere else you used it. Reused passwords are a common way one breach spreads to several accounts.
Check your payment methods. If a card is saved on the account, look for charges you did not make and contact your bank if you find any.

Messages offering in-game currency, items or accounts

Offers of in-game currency, rare items, or "verification" of your account are a common way people lose game accounts. They arrive as direct messages, emails, social media posts and fake websites that copy a game's sign-in page.

Warning signs

A link to sign in that arrives in a message rather than one you navigated to yourself.
A web address that is close to, but not exactly, the publisher's own.
A request for your password, two-step code or recovery codes. Genuine support never needs these.
Urgency: an account "about to be deleted" unless you act straight away.
Offers to buy, sell or share accounts. Most game terms forbid this, and buyers have no protection if the original owner reclaims the account.

Scamwatch, run by the National Anti-Scam Centre, explains common scam types and how to report one. If a scam involved your bank card, contact your bank first.

If a company tells you your data was in a breach

Under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, organisations covered by the Privacy Act must notify affected people about certain breaches. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner explains the scheme and what you can do after a breach notification. Practical steps are usually the same as above: change the password on the affected account, change it anywhere else it was used, and turn on two-step verification.

Shared and family accounts

Game accounts are usually meant for one person. When several family members share one, sign-in problems multiply: one person changes the password, another turns on two-step verification linked to their own phone, and a third is locked out.

Give each person their own account where the game allows it, and use the store's family features to share purchases if those exist.
If an account must be shared, agree who manages the password and the recovery email, and keep the backup codes somewhere every adult in the house can reach.
For children's accounts, an adult should control the email address and recovery settings. The eSafety Commissioner has guidance on setting up games safely for children.

Contacting publisher support about an account

Account recovery requests are handled by people checking evidence, so a clear first message saves days of back-and-forth. Open the request from the publisher's official site, not from a link in an email or message. Give the account's username or player ID, the email address it used, roughly when you last signed in successfully, and when things changed. Attach receipts for purchases if you have them, with card numbers hidden apart from the last four digits.

Reply only within that support request. If someone contacts you on social media or by direct message claiming to be from support and offering to speed things up, it is very likely a scam, however official the profile looks.

Common questions

Can I recover an account if I no longer have the email address?

Often yes, but it takes longer. Publishers usually ask for other proof of ownership, such as purchase receipts, the date the account was created or details of linked payment methods. Start from the account recovery link on the official site.

Is a password manager a good idea?

A password manager makes it practical to use a different strong password for every account, which limits the damage from any one breach. The Australian Cyber Security Centre discusses password managers and passphrases in its guidance for individuals.

Someone messaged me saying my account will be banned unless I verify it. Is that real?

Treat it as suspicious. Go to the publisher's site yourself, without using the link in the message, and check your account there. Genuine notices are normally visible when you sign in through the official launcher or site.

Account security checklist

A unique password, or passphrase, used only for this account.
Two-step verification turned on, with backup codes stored somewhere safe offline.
The email address on the account is one you still check, and that email account is also protected with two-step verification.
No saved card on the account, or purchase confirmation turned on.
You sign in only through the launcher or a page you typed or bookmarked yourself.