Grand Theft Auto V developed by Rockstar for the Xbox 360 has leaked onto torrent sites four days before its release despite the developer’s attempts to stamp out piracy.

The last entry in the series was five years ago

The game, with an open-world larger than the title’s last three entries combined, is the most highly anticipated release of the year and the second most expensive piece of media content ever costing £170m - coming second to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’s £300m budget.

In response to the leak, Microsoft is banning the Xbox 360 accounts of individuals who are leaking video and picture content or playing the game early on Xbox Live.

Rockstar’s policy on the publication of copyrighted material from its games is: “No pre-release leaked footage of any kind: Any posting of in-game footage from leaked copies of the game prior to its official release date will be taken down, regardless of how the game was obtained. This includes ‘early unboxing’ videos.”

Social media site Vine has been a safe haven for leaked footage as the six-second clips can be uploaded en mass and can be shared quickly.

The download contains two DVD image files that can be burned and played on flashed Xbox 360 consoles. The file was uploaded on the Pirate Bay torrent website this morning; several hours after exclusive torrent sites received it.

GTA V has received 2.5 million pre-orders ahead of the 17 September launch on PS3 and Xbox 360.