Sony has reportedly fined a Russian electronics retailer a million rubles ($15,625) after one of its employees played Death Stranding before its release. A warehouse worker who was employed by the chain M.video allegedly took home a copy of the game to play on their PS4, with Sony identifying the player through his PSN account.
Death Stranding officially launches on November 8, but one curious player decided to try out the game early after nabbing a copy from his employer. According to RT, M.video’s Sales Development Manager Natalya Zavyalova sent an email discussing the firing of the employee. In the email, which was shared on social media, Zavyalova told store owners to keep copies of Death Stranding locked away, to prohibit other staff members from taking them.
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Sony learned of the player’s actions after tracing his PSN account, before investigating how he managed to obtain an early copy of the game. This allegedly led the company back to M.video, which was reportedly fined as a result of the employee’s actions.
Death Stranding is one of the most highly-anticipated games of the year, with its story expected to have all the twists and turns synonymous with Hideo Kojima games. As a result, Sony understandably wants to prevent players from being able to access it early and release spoilers onto the internet.
The warehouse employee who reportedly nabbed an early copy remains unnamed, with it only being reported that the Russian electronics chain was fined as a result of his actions. It’s unclear exactly how Sony tracked down the individual through his PSN account, though it seems that they’ll be regretting their actions and their early hands-on with Kojima Productions’ latest, given that they are reportedly no longer employed by the Russian retailer.
