Chinese Democracy first official release of new Guns N' Roses material since 1999's "Oh My God". (The entire album was made available for the game on April 14, 2009 as downloadable content) It was followed by "If the World", which plays during the closing credits of the 2008 film "Body of Lies". "Billboard" announced a firm release date for "Chinese Democracy", November 23, 2008, on October 9. In the US, the retail release is sold exclusively through Best Buy. The first single, "Chinese Democracy", was released on October 22, 2008. It was debuted on the Opie and Anthony show broadcast by KROQ-FM.
Chinese Democracy its pledge. On the album's release, however, Dr Pepper's online distribution of coupons proved inadequate. Lawyers for the band threatened Dr Pepper's parent company with a lawsuit two days after the album's release; in a letter to the company, Rose's lawyer Alan Gutman said: "The redemption scheme your company clumsily implemented for this offer was an unmitigated disaster which defrauded consumers and, in the eyes of vocal fans, ruined "Chinese Democracy"'s release." Gutman also demanded the company make a full-page apology that would appear in "The Wall Street Journal", "USA Today", "The New York Times", and "The Los Angeles Times".