October 21^st, 2004 (1:37am) - Another one of the big name games scheduled for release this Holiday Season, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has been pirated. The game, which is scheduled for release next week on the 26th, had been released earlier today. Regarding the pirated product, Rockstar Games issued the following statement:

"Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software are aware that an illegally obtained version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and images from the game and manual have been posted to various Internet sites. 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 unauthorized downloads, information, scans or videos, please contact us at piracy@rockstargames.com.

The launch date of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas remains the same. The game will be on store shelves in North America on October 26 and in Europe on October 29."

Who would of thought this would happen to a game with the word "theft" in the title? Oh, the irony!