Halo 2 Xbox game leaks over the Net

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 14 Oct 2004 at 14:48

According to reports, copies of the eagerly awaited Halo 2 Xbox game made an impromptu debut last night on Usenet groups and pirate sites.

The leaked game, purportedly the French version, precedes its official release in the second week of November, although Bungie, the studio developing the game, had earlier this week said work on the title was finished.

Microsoft, which owns Bungie, said in a statement that it would take a dim view of anyone downloading a copy of the leaked game from the Internet. 'Microsoft takes the integrity of its intellectual property extremely seriously... We consider downloading this code or making it available for others to download as theft.'

It also said it was 'currently investigating the source of this leak with the appropriate authorities,' and that it is 'aggressively pursuing the source of this illegal act.'

The first version of Halo sold more than 4 million copies when it was released three years ago, and the sequel is expected to be one of this year's best-selling titles.

Microsoft said that the leak would not affect the November launch schedule.