It's no secret that Microsoft has been working on an unannounced remake of Gears of War for the Xbox One after acquiring the franchise from Epic Games last year. Even still, Microsoft would like details of unannounced titles to remain that way which explains why the company got so ticked off when footage from the game recently leaked online.
Microsoft contracted VMC Games to perform private beta testing of the Gears of War remake. Its employees work from home under a non-disclosure agreement, testing AAA multiplayer console and PC titles using their own equipment.
The recent leaked footage you may have seen online was traced back to employees of VMC Games. As a result of breaking the NDA, the offending employees have been terminated from VMC Games. Worse yet, Microsoft banned the users from Xbox Live for an undisclosed period of time (potentially a lifetime ban).
Without access to Xbox Live, a console is essentially crippled as it can't download patches or access online-only titles like Destiny.
The Gears of War footage first appeared on XboxDVR but has since been removed. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the clips quickly found their way to other sites - all but guaranteeing that there's no controlling the leak now.
Either way, we should hear something official on the matter next month as Microsoft is expected to unveil the game during E3.
Video via Polygon