Are we surprised that a game is released which is buggy? I don't think so. Even if the game is Shivering Isles the official expansion to Oblivion. While it is surprising that a game ending bug could get through the testing process when you see some of the conditions associated with the bug you begin to understand. Bethesda are promising that the patch to fix the "formID" bug will be available for download on Xbox live on Monday in the US (so Tuesday for all us folk who are ahead of everyone else).

The news was made semi official by Gstaff (Ashley Cheng, Production Director, Bethesda) on the Bethesda forums,

"Monday! ... This will include the final update for PC, as well as the update for the 360 available through Xbox Live. This is a worldwide patch ... Again, this is our target date, so hopefully all will go well in preparation for uploading these."

The bug is reported to be game ending and would cause objects to disappear from the game world. These items are critical to the game therefore ending any potential gameplay related to the story. It is reported to have been involved with the scripts which control a number of guards patrols. However, it is expected that you will only have the bug occur after 100 to 150 hours of total gameplay. Because the scripts run in the background and run even if you aren't in the area you could be affected by the bug without even having contact with the guards.

It is amazing how long it has taken Bethesda to fix this issue with the game. Hopefully all of those PC and Xbox 360 users can get back on track and, finally, finish the expansion.