Surely one of, if not the most anticipated Xbox 360 title of the year for FPS fans, Halo 4 will bring Master Chief back to the forefront of the series after a short hiatus, and will begin a whole new saga for the armour-clad hero.
Due out on Xbox 360 on November 6 with a worldwide launch, it seems some aren’t able to wait that long, and copies of the game have been leaked online, along with a smattering of screenshots and spoiler-filled footage on YouTube.
Microsoft has, unsurprisingly, acted fast to take down the offending material, and users caught playing the game has been slapped with a permanent Xbox Live ban due to ‘prerelease title play’.
343 Industries, however, is reportedly unsurprised and unfazed by the leak, and Halo 4’s director, Frank O'Connor, has been quoted (by Polygon) as saying "There are people putting the whole thing on YouTube. Microsoft is addressing that a single case at a time, it just takes a little while to handle."
He then added "This is how surprised I am about this,” followed by a simple shrug of the shoulders.
With a title as big Halo 4, leaks are inevitable really, and so O’Connor’s response isn’t all that strange. With Microsoft’s considerable clout behind them, though, this shouldn’t be a leak that causes too much problem. After all, Halo 4’s main draw, as it has been for many players of the series, is multiplayer, and so Xbox Live bans are too much to risk for most genuine fans.
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