Whether it’s an accidental shipping error or it’s a pirated digital copy, games have a tendency to leak prior to the actual launch date. Unless it’s either a retail copy that’s been sent from a publisher, or an incomplete developer-build, playing an early copy of a game can result in an online-service ban. Fairly recent examples of this include the early releases of Grand Theft Auto V and Halo 4; those who played either of those games before launch- unless approved by Microsoft, Sony, the publishers and/or developers- would face a lifetime online-service ban.
Respawn Entertainment founder Vince Zampella stated in a recent Tweet that those who receive early retail copies of Titanfall will not get banned if they decide to play. However, players will more than likely experience connection “interruptions”, as Respawn will be in the process of launching servers for the official launch:
About playing early: We won’t stop or ban legit copies. It is prelaunch, so there may be interruptions in service as we prep servers.
— Vince Zampella (@VinceZampella) March 7, 2014
As the Tweet states, players of “legit copies” will not face any sort of ban. Those who somehow obtain pirated copies of Titanfall will more than likely face a different outcome. It’s interesting to see a developer have such a relaxed approach to the idea that people will be playing Titanfall ahead of its official launch. Of course, it seems that Respawn Entertainment wants fans to experience and enjoy Titanfall by whatever means. A sign of this was opening the recent Beta up to the public only a few days after it launched. From a personal experience, I applied for a PC Beta key, and received one for the Xbox One version instead; an hour later, I was sent another key for the PC Beta, along a second key for a friend…in addition to the still-active Xbox One key, which I gave away.
Bottom line is, if you happen to get your hands on an early copy of Titanfall, play to your hearts consent. As for those who wish to do early YouTube walkthroughs, Zampella and the rest of Respawn have yet to say what their policy on recorded content will be. Though, if the Beta was an indication of anything, players will probably have free-reign to post whatever content he or she pleases. Titanfall launches on March 11 for PC and Xbox One, with the Xbox 360 version coming on March 25.