Microsoft investigates Halo:Reach net leak

One of the biggest new Xbox releases of the year, Halo:Reach, has leaked onto the internet three weeks ahead of its intended launch date: much to Microsoft's disgust.

Halo:Reach, which should have been released to the general public on September 14, is a first person shooter published by Microsoft's Game Studios, where players take on the role of a super-soldier engaged in a battle with an alien collective on the planet Reach, in the year 2552. According to a survey by Gamesindustry.biz, industry professionals expect the game to be among the top selling titles of 2010.

However, instead of being kept under wraps until its release date, Reach has popped up on internet file-sharing sites such as Pirate Bay, and has already been downloaded hundreds of times. It's been suggested that the leak occurred after the game was opened up for beta testing with a limited number of reviewers and journalists in order to iron out bugs and make improvements to game-play. However, it's not the leaker that Microsoft will be looking to stop, so much as anyone downloading pirate copies.

Microsoft takes a pretty dim view of game piracy, and it seems that anyone downloading a pirated copy of Reach and playing it on their Xbox LIVE-connected console will be looking at some pretty serious consequences, including permanent suspension of their LIVE accounts. The company is already sending out 'notification of permanent suspension' emails, citing 'pre-release title play' - so if you were thinking of getting in on the free Reach action, you'd be well advised to think again.