Call of Duty: WWII, one of this year's highly anticipated games, won't hit retail stores until Nov. 3, but several gamers are now reporting that some copies are being shipped early to some countries, but that doesn't mean they can play it earlier than everybody else.

Players who got their hands on an early copy of Call of Duty: WWII actually can't play the game just yet, even its offline single-player campaign.

Call Of Duty: WWII Begins Shipping Early

Charlie Intel first reported about the early copies, even posting photos of the game's retail disc and Pro Edition variant, including the Steelbook. Those planning to scour the depths of the internet just to get an early copy online should be mindful of one caveat: the game simply won't work without a day-one patch, which weighs 9 GB.

Even though the single-player campaign is offline, the game still won't work without installing the patch first. As WWG points out, it's probably a countermeasure put in by Activision to prevent players from spoiling the game for everyone else.

Call Of Duty: WWII Now Playable On PS4 After Patch

That said patch is now live for the PlayStation 4 version of the game, though, so PS4 players who have an early copy on hand will be able to play the game right this very moment after downloading the 9 GB patch. It can't be played online, though — not yet, anyway.

It's highly likely Activision is simply waiting until the game's official release date before activating multiplayer servers. But PS4 players can at least breeze through the main single-player campaign if so they wish. It remains uncertain if patches for Xbox One or PC have gone live as well, so for now, PS4 folks are the only ones who can play the game this early.

Call of Duty: WWII launches Nov. 3 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A Switch port was rumored for a while, though Activision later flat-out said it's not happening. No explanation was given. Perhaps development was too far along to even consider making a Switch version, in addition to the fact that the Switch is pretty underpowered compared with PS4 and Xbox One. Still, it's getting Doom and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus soon, which are pretty power-intensive games, so maybe the next Call of Duty entry will hit Nintendo's console.

Thoughts about Call of Duty: WWII? Do you have an early copy of the game? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!