"Grand Theft Auto V" officially launched last week, scooping up more than a billion dollars for developer Rockstar Games and publisher Take-Two Interactive and generally making fans go crazy just to get their hands on a copy of the game. But for a game that centers around stealing and driving vehicles of all shapes and sizes, "GTA V" is suffering from an ironic problem: Sometimes, the snatched cars simply disappear into thin air.
No, this isn't some cruel joke that Rockstar put into the game to show what it feels like to get carjacked. According to an update on Rockstar's official support page for "GTA V," it's an unresolved bug the company is now looking into.
"We have received some reports about problems with cars and garages, particularly after upgrading and then completing a mission, and are looking into this now," Rockstar said. "Unfortunately, we do not currently have a workaround to recover a car if it is missing."
Specifically, the support page said that the bug can erase cars "if you drive another character's personal vehicle" — say, operating the pick-up truck owned by "GTA V's" meth-addled psycho-killer, Trevor, as one of the other two playable characters in the game. For the time being, Rockstar suggests that players avoid parking cars in one of the game's garages, driving cars found in those garages, or operating any of the player character's default vehicles except when playing as that character. (So, only drive the pick-up truck, for instance, when playing the role of Trevor.)
Rockstar also invited players to sign up for an automatic email notification they can receive when the developers do find a solution to the bug. In the meantime, if you're still fiending for "Grand Theft Auto V," there are more than enough ways to cause all sorts of mayhem in Rockstar's latest opus.
Yannick LeJacq is a contributing writer for NBC News who has also covered technology and games for Kill Screen, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. You can follow him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq and reach him by email at: Yannick.LeJacq@nbcuni.com.