Stolen Uncharted 4 copies hit shelves early

After multiple delays, it turns out Uncharted 4 is hitting some shelves early, much to the chagrin of Sony. In an update on the PlayStation Blog today, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida explained why copies of the Naughty Dog action game have been spotted in the wild, well ahead of its May 10 official launch date.

"We have some unfortunate news to report that a number of copies of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End were stolen while in transit," Yoshida said. "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."

Yoshida went on to ask for customers' cooperation in refraining from picking up a copy of the game early should they have the opportunity.

"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 spoiled by not purchasing copies of the game ahead of the launch date," Yoshida said. "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 10."

Users on gaming message boards had reported finding copies of the game for sale at CEX and on eBay. A Sony representative told MCV that any such copies had come from the theft, as the company hasn't shipped copies to UK retailers yet.