Halo: Reach pirates will be permabanned, says Microsoft

Gamers who have decided to forgo the 3-week wait and download illegitimate copies of Halo: Reach will suffer some less than pleasant consequences.

A group of modders managed to nab the entire build from Xbox Live without paying the steep price of 99999 MS Points ($1250). While the group said it had no intention of releasing the hacked build to the public, it inevitably ended up on file-sharing sites where many anxious gamers have purportedly snatched the opportunity to play Halo: Reach early.

Unfortunately for them, Microsoft is tracking these pirates down and slamming them with a permanent ban from Xbox Live, according to a policy document obtained by MaxConsole. The “Notification of Permanent Suspension” cites “prerelease title play” as the cause for the ban, stating that players will never be able to connect to Xbox Live again. Microsoft has yet to say whether they will ban the GamerTag or the Xbox 360.

When GameSpot reached out for comment, Microsoft released the following statement:

“Microsoft’s commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the 25 million members of the Xbox Live community remains a top priority. All consumers should know that piracy is illegal, violates the Xbox Live terms of use, and will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live.”

Microsoft’s director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live, Stephen Toulouse, said on Twitter:

“As with all unauthorized play on Xbox Live, anyone playing any unauthorized title runs the risk of account permaban and console. Remember, legit store bought copy runs no risk of ban. Key word: UNAUTHORIZED. We have ways of knowing.”