Gears of War 3 street date broken in Norway

As is common with all major games, some store has broken the street game of a major release. This time, Norwegian online retailer Elkjop has reportedly shipped copies of Gears of War 3 over a week before its scheduled release date of September 20. Gamers have been sending in pics of the game proving they got early copies.

Microsoft issued a vague threat, stating it was something the publisher would “immediately” follow-up on. “Gears of War 3 shall not, under any circumstances be sold before the launch date on September 20 and violations of this is something we look very seriously,” said Microsoft Norway.

Elkjob also released its own official statement on how the store was “keen to keep these deadlines,” and claimed, “We informed Microsoft yesterday. Now we (are) examining what has happened, so it does not happen again.”

Let us know if you’ve received an advanced copy of the game from Elkjob.