Illegal GTA IV rip appears online

The first reports of illegal rips of GTA IV appearing online on Xbox 360 have started to emerge – and the game’s presence on a number of gamertags confirms that some are already getting to grips with Liberty City.

Kotaku reports that a PAL rip of the title appeared on newsgroups at 11:50am this morning courtesy of a hacker named iCON.

Once downloaded and burnt onto a DVD, owners of either a debug/test 360 or a modded machine were able to run the code.

The PS3 has to date been more resilient to hacking attempts, so most pirate activity is expected to focus on Microsoft’s console.

Meanwhile, Achievement Point tracking site MyGamerCard.net shows eight players whose profiles show GTA IV activity, VG247 reports.

It has been claimed that the game is already in the hands of a number of retailers, but also that all involved have been required to sign agreements stipulating that the title would not be sold early – or even given to employees ahead of release.

Image source: Kotaku