Death Stranding Hype Gets Curious Russian Gamer Fired
A Russian gamer was so eager to play Death Stranding that he nabbed a copy before the release date. His curiosity got him fired from his job. | Source: PlayStation/YouTube
- Russian retail worker takes home a copy of Death Stranding ahead of release.
- Sony catches on as soon as the game is activated and fines retailer M.Video one million rubles.
- M.Video says it has suffered reputational damage and urges stricter control of stock ahead of release.
A Russian warehouse worker was so eager to play Death Stranding that he lost his job for a chance to play the game early.
Russian Warehouse Worker Gets Early Look At Death Stranding
As RT reports , upon stumbling across the inventory of the anticipated title, a worker at Russian electronic retail chain M.Video bagged a copy of Death Stranding before its release date. A once in a lifetime opportunity that few avid games would be able to walk away from without an inkling of regret.
He duly headed home and installed the game on his PlayStation 4, ready to jump into Kojima’s latest effort. Activation of the game quickly alerted Sony to the transgression, and the publisher swiftly pinpointed the worker’s PlayStation account.
Retailer Fined One Million Rubles
After a brief investigation, Sony was able to track the game back to M.Video. Sony fined the retailer one million rubles ($15,625) for breaching the Death Stranding launch date.
A corporate email sent to the retailer’s stores across the country revealed the employee lost his job soon afterward. It also explains M.Video suffered reputational damage as a consequence of his eagerness to jump in early.
The memo also asked managers to keep a close eye on copies of the game before release – even fielding the idea of storing them in locked offices and safes. Or, alternatively, concealing them in taped boxes to avoid any further leaks.
Countdown to Death Stranding
Whether it was worth it for this particular gamer is unclear. For the rest of us, we’ll have to wait patiently until tomorrow.
In the meantime, Geoff Keighley and Hideo Kojima are currently hosting a Countdown to Death Stranding live stream with appearances from the cast of the game.
Lindsay Wagner – who plays Amelie in Death Stranding – and Troy Baker (of The Last of Us fame) – who voices the character of Higgs – have already made an appearance, with more to follow.
