Halo 4 had the unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your perspective) timing of coming out on Election Day, but it doesn’t mean the development team behind the game wants fans to spend all day sitting in front of their Xbox.

Players are sharing the message they received upon booting up their copy of Halo 4 Tuesday. 343 Industries tells fans “that if you are in the U.S., don’t forget to vote!”

In addition, Microsoft also used the last month to encouraged players to “vote first, play second” in a campaign that ran at NY Comic Con.

Are you picking up your copy of Halo 4 after voting, or spending all day playing? Let us know in the comments.

More Coverage of Election 2012

• Barack Obama Tweets Victory in 2012 Presidential Election

• Yes, We GIFed: Obama’s Animated Election Victory Celebration

• Donald Trump Freaks Out on Twitter After Obama Wins Election

• A Look Inside the Obama and Romney Headquarters on Election Night [PICS]

• 15 Funny ‘Moving to Canada’ Tweets for Election Night

• Obama’s Victory Tweet Is His Most Retweeted Ever

• Karl Rove Refuses to Accept Obama’s Election Win [VIDEO]

• Watch Mitt Romney Deliver His Concession Speech [VIDEO]

Image courtesy Reddit

Thumbnail, Mashable composite, Halo 4 and istockphoto

Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/06/halo-voting/