Playing Modern Warfare 3 Early May Result in Ban

Yesterday, we reported that those who managed to get a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 early would be allowed to play the game before it's official release.  For those who haven't heard, thanks to a mixup by K-mart some gamers had been able to purchase early copies of Activision's highly-anticipated shooter.

This report was based off of a tweet by Xbox Live Director of Policy and Enforcement Stephen Toulouse.  Yesterday he announced on Twitter, "If your copy is legit and obtained legitly, have fun.  It's a great game."

Before you put that disc in your Xbox 360, think again.  It appears Microsoft has had a change of heart, or never had a heart at all.  Several hours later Toulouse retracted his earlier statement: "Double-checked with Activision.  Mw3 pre-release play not authorized.  So please be patient.  Playing early may impact your account!"

Regardless of who is to blame for the recent flurry of mixups, it looks like right now the fans are going to be held responsible if they play the game early.  I know it's tempting to experience that new "controversial" London sequence, but you might want to wait to play until an official statement or the release of the game in 4 more days, unless you want to risk your account.  For what it's worth, I never met anyone who's been banned from Xbox LIVE for playing a legit copy of a game early.