GameStop has acknowledged to Kotaku that its corporate office approved the early sale of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in some locations.
The following statement was released by the Vice President of corporate communications Chris Olivera:


This past weekend, GameStop made the decision to break street date and sell reserved copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in select markets where other retailers had broken street date. Our decision followed many conversations with Activision and was an effort to protect our customer base.


Activision reportedly contacted Kotaku and contradicted Olivera's claims, stating that, "Activision has not given any retailer permission to sell Modern Warfare 2 prior to the Nov. 10 street date. The company fully supports the Nov. 10 street date."

Olivera did not specify exactly how many of its stores GameStop authorized to sell Modern Warfare 2, nor in all of the markets it did so. From reader tips and follow-up phone calls, Kotaku knows that stores in Bowie, Md., Bowling Green, Ohio, Reading, Pa., and New York City were involved.