With a slew of highly anticipated games slated to release before the end of 2012, there were bound to be cases of Internet leaks and pirated copies making their rounds. The first of these presumed instances appears to be a leak for Halo 4, 343 Industries first foray into the world of Master Chief.
While the Halo franchise is no stranger to leaks — both Halo 3 and Halo: Reach were spotted in the wild well before launch — it's still unfortunate to see a lot of hard work being undermined. Microsoft is doing their due diligence and has placed a security team on the case, but as of right now there aren't any concrete clues as to the nature of the leak.
Gamers on Reddit and on Xbox Live are posting pictures of themselves with the Halo 4 disc icon, but thus far neither Microsoft nor 343 Industries have been able to determine if these copies were pirated, or if retailers that broke the game's street date sold them. The Examiner seems to believe that many of the leaked instances of the game have originated from Mexico and Spain, but Microsoft wouldn't comment.
The Halo publisher did issue a public statement saying they are "working closely with our security teams and law enforcement to address the situation," but at this point the damage is seemingly done. We imagine that those who are found to be in possession of a pirated copy of the game will no longer be Xbox Live Gold members, if they were at all.
Perhaps if Microsoft had applied the same security measures for Halo 4 as they have put in place to prevent Xbox 720 leaks then footage of the game could have potentially stayed off the net. Nonetheless, those loyal Halo fans will continue to wait patiently for the release of Halo 4, all while they are being teased with extensive multiplayer map walkthroughs and the live-action series 'Forward Unto Dawn.'
How excited are you for the release of Halo 4? What is the best plan of attack for a publisher dealing with a leak of an especially popular video game?
Halo 4 releases November 6, 2012 for the Xbox 360.
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