Well, sadly it was to be expected. The biggest game of the year, you can't really trust game retailers anymore (well their staff anyway). According to many online forums, news websites and the like, a pirated or "leaked" copy of Grand Theft Auto IV surfaced online at around 11:50am Greenwich Mean Time. 6.4 GB's in size, it is only available on a private tracker, meaning it is hidden rather well from the public. It is the PAL version of the game and for the Xbox 360. It was leaked by an underground group called "iCON" to various torrent websites.

It's disappointing really, I mean we have waited for 4 years and been through 1 large delay, can waiting a measly 5-6 days really hurt you that much that you have to download 6.4 GB's? It really is disappointing that not only was it leaked, but that people are downloading it.

The game industry lost billions of dollars last year due to events just like this, people downloading rather then buying the game. We hope you won't be one of them, with only 5 days to go, can't you just wait? Hell, for most people 6.4 GB's would take nearly that long anyway. Show your support, Rockstar put in 4 years into this masterpiece, downloading it illegally is like kicking them where it hurts. Shame on those who choose to be a pirate, your time will come.

Note also, the file is exactly 6.32 GB's in size. Files have been mirrored onto popular file-hosting websites such as RapidShare, however we have gone through and reported all we have found so far. Rockstar have been contacted for comment however New York is only just starting their day and we don't expect any comment until this-afternoon. San Andreas was leaked before it's release also, a whole week before in fact.

Sources: GeekPulp and Kotaku