HiGame

Nobody likes to be told they can’t have something just because they live in the wrong part of the world. Case in point — Microsoft has earned the ire of gamers across the globe for its decision to make the upcoming free-to-play Halo Online PC title available only in Russia. Modders have gotten their hands on the game, though, and are busy removing the region lock. In response, Microsoft is unleashing the lawyers.

Halo Online is simpler than modern Halo games on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It’s based on a heavily modified Halo 3 engine that has been tweaked to run well on low-power PCs. That said, the gameplay videos of Halo Online look perfectly serviceable. The game is played entirely online, so it’s multiplayer only. Microsoft doesn’t plan to create any sort of campaign for Halo Online.

People are not taking kindly to Microsoft’s decision to launch Halo Online in closed beta for Russia only, but you can guess at the reasoning. The rates of piracy in Russia are higher than in North America or Europe, but free-to-play games tend to pull in some revenue from people that would otherwise just grab all their games from BitTorrent. The low spec requirements will also expand the user base dramatically. Microsoft would likely offer players the option of buying additional equipment and accessories in the game for real money, but there are no details what the cost structure will be yet.

No sooner did Microsoft announce Halo Online then a leaked copy of the game showed up online. With access to the game, modders set to work getting around the region lock. It wasn’t long before a custom launcher called ElDorito (a joke based on the games official launcher, called ElDorado) showed up on Github. ElDorito is intended to make the game playable everywhere, but Microsoft doesn’t want that. And this is how the lawyers came to be involved.

The ElDorito Github listing was hit with a DMCA takedown notice by Microsoft’s legal team yesterday. In the document, Microsoft asserts a copyright claim to ElDorito and demands it be taken down. Github is obliged to comply with any DMCA letters it gets, but the ElDorito team can appeal if they choose. It’s important to note that ElDorito isn’t the actual game — it’s just a launcher created by the community. It’s still possible it uses something from the official launcher or game, so Microsoft’s claim could be completely valid.

The game files needed to play Halo Online are floating around online in the form of a 2.1GB ZIP file. As this is an online game, Microsoft can probably block leaked versions going forward. Still, modders aren’t going to stop developing workarounds until there’s a legitimate way to play Halo Online. Microsoft has said that any expansion of Halo Online to other markets would require changes to the experience, and it’s not focusing on that right now. Maybe someday, though.


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