Take-Two Interactive's (TTWO) 'GTA V' Pulled from Shelves by Two Australian Retail Giants

Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO) is on watch Thursday following news that the company's Grand Theft Auto V (GTA5) is being pulled from shelves in Australia.

According to various reports, Target Australia and Kmart Australia -- both owned by Wesfarmers -- have removed the title from stores.

The move comes following an online petition launched by female victims of sexual violence, which garnered nearly 45,000 signatures.

One rep for Target Australia commented to the WSJ, There is a significant level of concern about the game’s content ... We’ve also had customer feedback in support of us selling the game, and we respect their perspective on the issue. However, we feel the decision to stop selling GTA5 is in line with the majority view of our customers.

While GTA5 racked-up over $1 billion in sales within the first three days of its release, it wasn't made immediately clear what portion of that came from the Australian marketplace.

Shares of Take-Two Interactive are flat in early trading.

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