343 Industries unfazed by apparent Halo 4 theft and piracy

As illicit copies and spoiler-laden videos of Halo 4 start to surface on the Internet, Microsoft continues their investigation into how a copy of the game ended up in the wild.

Images of the game discs in an art-free, green case, as well as dashboard photos featuringHalo 4, were posted on NeoGAF on Friday.

Microsoft spokesman Joe DIMiero told Polygon yesterday that the company is working closely with their security teams and law enforcement to investigate the apparent theft.

Polygon caught up with developer 343 Industries at New York Comic Con as they prepared for their Halo 4 panel set for later today.

Frank O'Connor, Halo franchise director, said that Microsoft was aware of the apparent torrents of the game that are now online and of the videos showing the campaign.

"There are people putting the whole thing on YouTube," he said. "Microsoft is addressing that a single case at a time, it just takes a little while to handle."

O'Connor said the leaks of the game and footage won't have any impact on how the game is released or marketed, including today's planned talk on the game at Comic Con.

The entire team seem unfazed by the leak of the game, rumored to have come from a production facility.

"This is how surprised I am about this," O'Connor said as he shrugged slightly, adding that piracy of high-profile games is sort of inevitable.

Halo 4 is currently scheduled for a release date of Nov. 6.