Microsoft May Ban Xbox Live Accounts Playing Modern Warfare 3 Too Early

Much excitement surrounds Activision's Call of Duty game franchise with the upcoming Modern Warfare 3 title set to be released on November 8. But somehow, in the hustle and bustle, some retail stores, including Kmart, have accidentally sold the discs early, with one ending up on eBay for more than $1,700. Although purchased legitimately, playing these discs before the release date could get your Xbox Live account banned.

Microsoft is warning users to not play the Modern Warfare 3 game before the release date. Xbox Live Director of Policy and Enforcement Stephen Toulouse had initially sent out a tweet yesterday giving everyone the "OK" to play these legit copies that were accidentally released early, but after double-checking with Activision, Toulouse tweeted another message, warning against doing so.

"clarification: dblchk'd with Activision. Mw3 pre-release play not authorized. So pls be patient. Playing early may impact your account!"

But besides the tweets, it's not clear how else Microsoft and Activision plan to get the word out to all potential users and how serious they are about implementing the consequences. However, Microsoft has been quick to ban Xbox Live accounts in the past for modded consoles, pirated games and such. But in this case, it's really the retail stores at fault, so we'll see.

[via Gamasutra]