Halo 3 testers who use racist slurs will be removed and 'face consequences in the retail game'

Halo 3 key art
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Halo 3 testing officially kicked off last week, giving Halo Insiders a chance to get their hands on the next addition to Halo: The Master Chief Collection before it's rolled out to the world at large. 343 Industries community director Brian Jarrad said yesterday that more people are being invited into the test, which has been extended to June 26, and he also had a very stern warning for everyone taking part.

Jarrard didn't expand upon what "consequences in the retail game" means, but the warning echoes a statement Jarrard made earlier in June, before the Halo 3 testing started. "Racism and bigotry have no place in the world or Halo. We have a zero tolerance policy and are committed to taking more action to remove this behavior from our games and community," he tweeted. "The Banhammer is fired up. Consider this your only warning."

On June 5, 343 Industries committed to donating all proceeds from the sale of Halo 5: Guardians REQ Pack purchases made between June 19 and July 19 to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. June 19, also known as Juneteenth, is an unofficial US holiday commemorating the reading of federal orders in Galveston, Texas, declaring that all slaves were now free. The Emancipation Proclamation had official ended slavery more than two years earlier, but as PBS explains, news traveled slowly and enforcement was uneven, and often absent completely. Thus, the June 19 reading of the order by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger was embraced as "a date to rally around."

Thanks, Gamespot.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.