In the lead-up to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s release, hype among fans has understandably reached a fever pitch.

Now, while most of us would be perfectly content to reboot Breath of the Wild again or simply sit in the corner of a room and sway back and forth for hours on end, a couple of people in Japan were just as eager to take matters into their own hands. And by that, we mean that they stole copies of Kingdom Tears and paid the price later. blonkers.

according to punchon (Thanks, Automaton), the perpetrators had undertaken part-time employment for Amazon subcontractors, effectively giving them access to the warehouses where the game and related accessories were kept. One of them, a 21-year-old, stole a copy of the game and failed to show up to work after he started playing. The other, a 24-year-old, admitted to stealing a copy of the game along with accessories, including a Zelda-themed Pro Controller, in order to sell it for a profit.

Both were ordered to compensate for all damages following the theft and were of course terminated. According to Automaton, the incident is far from an isolated case due to the extreme attrition of part-time workers in fields like this, which has led to numerous incidents of theft, including the likes of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

It just goes to show the lengths some individuals will go to to play a game early on. Had they waited like the rest of us, they would no doubt have been enjoying Kingdom Tears in comfort with a clean slate. Shame!