343 Industries’ Halo 4 was leaked onto torrent sites over the weekend, with Microsoft permanently banning pirates who played the game on their console from Xbox LIVE.
The content of the game’s two discs were each leaked, which totalled over 8GB per disk. One disk contained the Xbox 360 exclusive’s single-player component, while the other featured its multiplayer mode.
“We have seen the reports of ‘Halo 4’ content being propped on the Web and are working closely with our security teams and law enforcement to address the situation,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
Josh Holmes, creative director of Halo 4, said on Twitter: “I’ve worked for over 3 years making Halo 4. Please avoid spoilers and leaks from thieves for 3 more weeks until the game is out. Thank you.”
“There are people putting the whole thing on YouTube,” Halo franchise director Frank O’Connor told Polygon. “Microsoft is addressing that a single case at a time, it just takes a little while to handle.”
Upon being asked for his reaction to the leak, O’Connor shrugged and said “this is how surprised I am about this.” He added that such leaks are inevitable for blockbuster titles.
Halo 4 launches worldwide on November 6 th , 2012.