[UPDATE] Rockstar has said the earlier announcement of a PS3 preload in North America was “incorrect” and that the game will not launch on the US PlayStation Network until 12am Eastern Time on September 17.

[UPDATE 4] Rockstar has said the earlier announcement of a PS3 preload in North America was “incorrect” and that the game will not launch on the US PlayStation Network until 12am Eastern Time on September 17.

[UPDATE 3] The official Rockstar Games Twitter channel now says that gamers in Europe can preload GTAV through the PSN starting at 3 p.m. BST on Sunday, September 15. Players in the United States can preload the game beginning at 3 a.m. EDT on Monday, September 16.

[UPDATE 2] The official PlayStation Europe Twitter account clarified this afternoon that users in that region will be able to preload GTAV beginning at 3 p.m. GMT on Sunday, September 15.

[UPDATE] A Rockstar Games representative told Joystiq that anyone who preordered GTAV through the PlayStation Network in the United States will not be able to preload the game at all.

“It’s not our call,” the representative noted.

The original story is below.

Sony Europe has confirmed that digital preorders of Grand Theft Auto V will begin preloading on September 16.

The company had previously promised that customers would be able to start preloading the game on September 13 if they purchased through the PlayStation Store, meaning that users will now get one day to download the full game as opposed to four.

“I will try to find out why the date has changed but its confirmed that the predownload will be on the 16th,” said a Sony representative on the company’s forums.

Many posters on Sony’s EU forum have expressed frustration at the delay, believing they have lost the advantage in purchasing the digital copy to begin with.

“We are already paying £15 more than a physical version from Amazon so I think Sony should offer some kind of compensation to their loyal customers or make extra special effort to get the pre-load out there by the end of today!” wrote forum user alexfifa98.

Last month Sony publicly apologised to GTA V developer Rockstar, after some European users managed to download the game’s files and post some assets online.

“Regrettably, some people who downloaded the digital pre-order of Grand Theft Auto V through the PlayStation Store in Europe were able to access certain GTA V assets. These assets were posted online,” said Sony social media manager Sid Shuman in a statement.

Grand Theft Auto V will be released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 worldwide on September 17.

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