Thousands line up for ‘Grand Theft Auto V’

The creators of Grand Theft Auto V have launched an investigation after copies of the eagerly anticipated video game appear to have been dispatched days ahead of its official release.

Online retailer Amazon has already sold out of the game, which cost more to make than many Hollywood blockbusters and generated a similar hype.

Thousands of fans around the world queued up last night to get their hands on the latest iteration in the Grand Theft Auto series, which reportedly cost over €200m to make and market.

It was officially released at midnight but some gamers claimed to have received their copies as early as Friday following Amazon deliveries.

GTA maker Rockstar said it was looking into how any copies of the game may have been released early.

“We are in the process of investigating early ‘sales’ to determine how and why that is occurring,” a spokesman told the Games Industry International website.

Experts are tipping the game to smash sales records and estimates suggest it could generate €1.2bn during its first year on sale, when gamers are predicted to snap up some 25m copies.

Tom Butler of gaming site IGN.com said thousands of workers have taken today off for the launch or plan on calling in sick.

“Grand Theft Auto V will be the biggest entertainment launch of the year and possibly all-time, with levels of consumer anticipation outstripping Harry Potter and Twilight,” he said.

The site polled 10,995 visitors on whether they would take time off work today to play the game.

Some 5,059 said they had booked the day off as holiday, 2,012 said they would phone in claiming to be unwell, while 3,884 said they could wait.

The GTA series has accumulated sales of 135m copies since its 1997 debut. Grand Theft Auto IV sold more than 25m copies since 2008.

Keza MacDonald, games editor at IGN.com, described GTA V as a “masterpiece” and “one of the very best video games ever made”.

“Grand Theft Auto V is not only a preposterously enjoyable video game, but also an intelligent and sharp-tongued satire of contemporary America,” she said.

“It represents a refinement of everything that GTA IV brought to the table five years ago. It’s technically more accomplished in every conceivable way, but it’s also tremendously ambitious in its own right.

“No other world in video games comes close to this in size or scope, and there is sharp intelligence behind its sense of humour and gift for mayhem. It tells a compelling, unpredictable, and provocative story without ever letting it get in the way of your own self-directed adventures.

“It is one of the very best video games ever made.”