Rockstar Launches Investigation After “GTA V” Copies Prematurely Reach Customers

Less than 24 hours away from the biggest video game release of the year, reports claim a handful of Amazon customers received their copies of Grand Theft Auto V well before its official release date.

Details of the unexpected premature arrival of games to select GTA fans surfaced Monday (September 16).

Amazon.co.uk has delivered copies of the eagerly awaited Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA5) video game ahead of the official launch on Tuesday, breaching a strict embargo set by its maker. Some customers who had pre-ordered the title received it days before the launch day. Rockstar North, the title’s Scottish creator, is reportedly investigating but has yet to comment publicly. Amazon said only “a small number” of customers had been affected. (BBC UK)

Amazon has already stepped forward to address the early release.

“We have established processes in place to deliver new titles to customers on their release date and are looking into the circumstances that led to a small number of customers receiving this game earlier than intended on this occasion”, an Amazon spokesman told the BBC. (BBC UK)

Rockstar has spoken out and started up an investigation into the matter.

The street date for highly-anticipated release Grand Theft Auto V has been broken, with many consumers who pre-ordered their copies of the game receiving it this weekend. The title is officially due for release on Tuesday but online retailer Amazon has already dispatched copies of the game, much to the delight of consumers, who have been posting images to social networking sites Instagram and Twitter. Rockstar has issued a short note to GamesIndustry International stating: “We are in the process of investigating early ‘sales’ to determine how and why that is occurring.” (Game Industry Biz)

Several lucky Amazon fans have posted up shots of their copies across the Internet.

Several Reddit users posted pictures of their new games, and one said: “Got the game at around 11 PM CST. “Played nonstop 2 hours, I just couldn’t put the controller down. The 8GB install took roughly twenty minutes on my PS3, the longest twenty minutes of my life. “The graphics on this game are unbelievable, and that is what I’m most blown away by thus far. “Tomorrow I will really get into playing the missions and try and get pretty far. Sorry for rubbing it in guys! I was absolutely giddy with excitement when I had it in my hands!” (The Mirror)

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