Microsoft has recently announced that it will be giving away about a million Xbox gamertags on May 18. Aside from being offered at no cost at all, this giveaway deal will also offer gamers a chance to secure highly-sought after Xbox Live user names.

As explained by Microsoft through the Major Nelson site, these dead gamertags were originally created and used during the time when the company was only working with the original Xbox console. However, when the Xbox 360 arrived and the Xbox Live subscription service migrated to this system, these tags were abandoned.

So, instead of letting them go to waste, Microsoft will offer them for free for a 24-hour period. During this time, gamers, especially those who have been wanting to use a particular tag but couldn't because someone used to own it, can take this opportunity to get the username that they've always wanted.

However, the chance to get a game tag is not available to everyone. To take advantage of the opportunity of registering an expired tag, gamers must be a member of Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold service for at least an entire year. Gamers can verify this by viewing their profiles through an Xbox One console or by using the Xbox App for Windows 10.

Microsoft, however, did not go into detail as to the exact gamertags that will be made available to gamers. But, it mentioned that these tags have been categorized as proper names, pop culture references such as in sports, gaming and entertainment, types of food, geography and travel, science and technology, math and numbers, animals and greatest inventions in history.

According to the company, gamers can access these free tags through the Xbox.com website. Registration will last for 24 hours and will kick off on May 18 at 2:00 pm ET. As noted by Microsoft, registering a gamertag and using it will not have any effect on a gamer's friends list, achievements and Gamescore.

Microsoft also said that Xbox Live Gold members from different countries can participate in the event and register the gamertag that they want.