Halo Reach one of the most anticipated games this year, for the XBox 360 has been leaked online and Microsoft is furious.
Last night Microsoft confirmed that they are holding an investigation into the leak which happened after the company released versions to selected journalists in the hope of a favourable review.
Halo Reach, which is due to be launched on 14 September, was discovered on the Swedish web site, The Pirate Bay. More than 300 people downloaded the game in the first few hours.
Microsoft said: “We are still investigating details surrounding a claimed leak of Halo Reach and have nothing further to share,”
According to the BBC, in 2009 Microsoft cut thousands of gamers off from its online gaming service, Xbox Live, for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.
Stephen Toulouse, director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live, warned on Twitter that people attempting to play unauthorised copies of Halo Reach could face similar sanctions.
“As with all unauthorised play on Xbox Live, anyone playing any unauthorised title runs the risk of account permaban,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Remember, legit store-bought copy runs no risk of ban. Key word: unauthorised. We have ways of knowing.”
The Halo Reach leak is not the first time that the popular video game series has been targeted by pirates eager to get their hands on the game.
