Game of Thrones fans livid as HBO Go stream crashes

Cable network HBO earned the wrath of many Game of Thrones fans Sunday night, after its streaming service HBO Go crashed due to high demand for the returning fantasy series.

Many HBO subscribers logging onto the streaming service were met with long load times or a "fatal error" message when attempting to watch the highly anticipated Season 4 premiere of Game of Thrones.

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Fans immediately took to social media and various websites including Twitter and Reddit with howls of indignation as the network attempted to fix the issue. Meanwhile, staffers urged patience from the angry subscribers and promoted other means of accessing the episode.

"HBO Go did experience issues due to overwhelming demand around the premiere of Game of Thrones. The service has returned to several platforms and we are working hard towards full recovery, which we expect soon," the network said in a subsequent statement.

The service was fully restored later Sunday evening, according to HBO.

This latest breakdown occurred less than a month after a similar crash left many fans stranded during the finale of the acclaimed new dramatic miniseries True Detective.