21 October 2004 By Matt Martin
Rockstar Games, publisher of the hugely popular crime series Grand Theft Auto, has issued a statement in reaction to the embarrassing theft of the latest title in the series, GTA: San Andreas.
The publisher has stated that it is ‘aggressively pursuing’ the people responsible for the theft, while hoping to stop the game from filtering around hundreds of Internet file-sharing sites.
The statement reads: “The proper authorities are investigating the theft and are continuing to investigate all possible leads to ensure there is no further dissemination of our creative content. Downloading, possession and distribution of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, including making the game available on the Internet, is theft.
We take the theft of our intellectual property very seriously and we are and will continue to diligently and aggressively pursue this matter. If anyone finds information on websites with links to unauthorised downloads, information, scans or videos, please contact us at
[email protected]”
This is the latest game to be stolen and posted on the Internet in a year that has seen many highly anticipated titles, including Doom 3 and Halo 2, leaked onto the Internet before the official retail release. The theft will not affect the planned release dates of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, currently scheduled for October 26th in the US and October 29th in Europe.