“We have some unfortunate news to report that a number of copies of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End were stolen while in transit,” Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida says in a post on the PlayStation Blog. “As with most Naughty Dog games, the unfolding story is such an integral part of the experience and for this reason we wanted to warn you to beware of the potential for spoilers to be posted by people with access to stolen copies of the game.”
“Stolen in transit” could mean just about anything, but in a statement to MCV Sony described the theft as a “violent assault” that also included a selection of other video games and DVDs.
These sorts of high-profile heists are relatively rare in the video game industry, but they do happen occasionally. Near the end of 2012 — when the Wii U was first released — about 7,000 consoles were stolen from a warehouse in Seattle, with the total value of the stolen goods at around $2 million. Last May, a truck carrying amiibo and Splatoon, again in the U.K., was also robbed.
“An extremely talented team has worked long and hard to bring Nathan Drake’s greatest adventure to life and we urge you to help us prevent this from being spoiled by not purchasing copies of the game ahead of the launch date,” Yoshida adds. “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.”
In other words: stay off the internet until the game is officially out.
