What Happens if You Leak Microsoft Gear of War Secrets?

We’ve known for a while now that Gears of War was getting a remake, it’s been rumored for a while now, but finally we have proof. VMC Games is a company contracted to test out new games and like many other companies these contracts comes with an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). But what happens if you break this? Well apparently your Xbox One is removed completely from the online world.

NDAs have been around for a while, companies take them out so the only time anyone can speak about a topic or product is when its done formally through a press release of some kind. Used in everything from courtrooms to government offices, the name gives away that once you sign it, you do not speak about it. An unlucky VMC games tester has unfortunately found out the hard way that Microsoft does not approve of you breaking your contract with them.

By sending a screenshot to a friend about the Gears remake that he was testing, that’s right he was telling his friend what he was working on and then sent him a screen grab of the game, the employee has found that both his bosses and Microsoft are taking action. With both VMC Games’s legal department and no doubt Microsoft’s involved, the employee is in a lot of legal troubles, all the while coupled by the fact they are now banned from the VMC Games program and they are having their Xbox Live access removed. Break the NDA and you lose all access to online functions, both for your account and your Xbox apparently. So break their NDA and you’ll quickly find your online life removed from your Xbox for however long Microsoft deem it necessary.

This was all caused by the fact that, after being tricked into thinking they were working on the same project, the employee sent a Snapchat of the screenshot which was then uploaded to the web before going viral. Not only has this damaged VMC Games reputation and potentially the trust of companies around the world with beta testers as a whole, but one person has lost a job all because a friend tricked them. These were not the only leaks I would like to add, several members of the Beta testing community have been found to have leaked footage and screen shots of the unannounced Gears of War project, and no doubt Microsoft will be making sure that their Xbox Ones are disabled with a swift hand.

What do you think about this situation? Do they deserve it for breaking the NDA, is removing Xbox live access going a little too easy on them?

Thanks to Kotaku and Engadget for the information.

Image courtesy of Pichost.