Fortnite-creator Epic Games' digital videogame store was down on Thursday as it recorded huge traffic after reports that it was giving the premium edition of "Grand Theft Auto V" for free.
Users trying to get their hands on the blockbuster action-adventure title took to Twitter to complain that they could only see an error upon opening the website.
The digital store is experiencing slow loading time with the launcher crashing at times, Epic tweeted earlier on Thursday, adding that it was working on fixing the issues.
We are currently experiencing high traffic on the Epic Games Store.
— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) May 14, 2020
We are aware that users may be encountering slow loading times, 500 errors, or launcher crashing at this time and we are actively working to scale. We'll provide an update as soon as we can.
We understand that many users are unable to access the Epic Games Store at this time. We appreciate your patience as we continue to work towards a resolution to mitigate traffic.
— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) May 14, 2020
A source close to the matter has confirmed that the game is available for free and will be officially announced by Epic once the issues on the website are fixed.
A verified account of Nvidia's GeForce also tweeted about Epic's free offering. Grand Theft Auto V uses Nvidia Corp's GeForce graphic cards to power its high resolution graphics.
Developed by Rockstar Games in 2013, a unit of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, GTA V is still one of the best-selling games so far this year, according to research firm NPD.