Copies of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End were stolen while in transit to retailers, Sony said on Wednesday, and as such they have surfaced in the United Kingdom about two weeks ahead of the game's launch date.

"An extremely talented team has worked long and hard to bring Nathan Drake's greatest adventure to life and we would urge you to help us prevent this from being spoiled by purchasing copies of the game ahead of the launch date," Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, said in a statement.

"Please rest assured we will be very vigilant to protect you from this as far as we can so you can enjoy Uncharted 4's experience to its fullest on May 10."

Yoshida did not clarify whether persons found on PlayStation Network playing Uncharted 4 before its street date would be sanctioned. The total number of copies in circulation is also unknown.

Eurogamer has reported on copies of the game being sold over eBay at high markup, with one reseller claiming that 10,000 copies had been seized by U.K. authorities for unpaid sales taxes, and so that was the source. Eurogamer was dubious of that claim, however.