Those who play the pirated game will be punished by the company

Feb 20, 2013 12:18 GMT  ·  By

After yesterday's leak of Gears of War: Judgment, Microsoft has released an official statement, saying that it's looking into the matter and threatening Xbox 360 owners who play the pirated version of the game with bans for their accounts and console.

Gears of War: Judgment is out in March, but a copy of the game was leaked yesterday onto torrent websites, allowing anyone with a modified Xbox 360 console to play the brand new third-person shooter.

Microsoft has now released a statement, via CVG, saying that it's aware of the leak and that it's working with law enforcement teams to address the situation.

The company also reminded Xbox 360 owners that playing pirated games goes against its terms of use and that it's going to ban anyone who does such a thing.

"Playing pirated copies of games, such as Gears of War: Judgment, is a violation of the Xbox Live Terms of Use and will result in enforcement action, such as account and console bans," the company said.

Gears of War: Judgment will be released on March 19, in North America, and March 22, in Europe.