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Halo 4 pirates facing permanent XBL bans?

Microsoft reportedly issuing permanent bans over "illegitimate prerelease title play"; 343 calls leak predictable, and encourages users to "exercise caution" to avoid spoilers.

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Gamers caught playing a pirated version of 343 Industries' new shooter Halo 4 potentially face a permanent ban from Xbox Live. That's according to one Reddit writer, who posted an email from Microsoft informing the user that "illegitimate prerelease title play" has yielded a permanent Xbox Live account suspension.

Pirates, ye be warned.
Pirates, ye be warned.

A Microsoft representative provided GameSpot with the following statement.

“We are aware of isolated cases in which 'Halo 4' content has been propped on the Web and are working closely with our security teams and law enforcement to address the situation immediately. Consumers should be aware that piracy is illegal and we take vigorous action against illegal activity related to our products and services. Playing pirated copies of games, such as Halo 4, is a violation of the Xbox Live Terms of Use and will result in enforcement action, such as account and console bans.”

Writing on the official Halo website, 343 Industries warned of Halo 4 leaks, and said it was "working closely" with security teams and law enforcement to address the situation.

"Piracy is illegal and we are taking vigorous action against it," reads a line from the statement. "We have poured our blood, sweat, and tears into Halo 4, and we want you to have the best possible experience with our game, come November 6. If you’re interested in staying spoiler-free, we encourage you to exercise caution when visiting various websites, social networking services, and forums."

Halo franchise director Frank O'Connor suggested to Polygon that the leak was not very surprising to begin with.

Halo 4 is due out worldwide November 6 exclusively for Xbox 360. It is the first numbered entry in the series developed outside of Bungie Studios and will not feature Kinect support for gameplay.

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