According to Sony’s Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida, a “number of copies of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End” have been stolen “while in transit” ahead of the game’s release in the United Kingdom.
Sounds a lot like a truck hijacking, which is something of a British speciality when it comes to video games.
He adds: “While we are continuing to work with the police to resolve the matter – which is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation – it appears that a few copies of the game have surfaced in the UK.”
Why the announcement? To give folks a heads-up on spoilers, but to also try and stop people paying for these stolen goods. “An extremely talented team has worked long and hard to bring Nathan Drake’s greatest adventure to life and we would urge you to help us prevent this from being spoilt by purchasing copies of the game ahead of the launch date”, Yoshida says. “Please rest assured we will be very vigilant to protect you from this as far as we can so you can enjoy Uncharted 4’s experience to its fullest on May 10th.”
Throw in some retailer drama and this is one heck of a messy launch. Or hype-generator’s dream. Or both.