Nintendo has found a notorious Pokémon Sword and Shield leaker, and the video game company is taking no chances: the publication for which the person wrote has been blacklisted. Nintendo takes the security of information related to its games very seriously. Leaks related to Pokémon games are something to which Nintendo pays even closer attention.
Last year, a series of Pokémon Sword and Shield leaks revealed not only which lovable (or not so lovable) critters would be in the new games as well as information on evolutions and more. Nintendo even filed a lawsuit against anonymous leakers who information on social media, subpoenaing identifying information from the likes of Discord and 4Chan as well as other places where the information was shared. One of those who leaked Pokémon Sword and Shield info wrote for a Portuguese video game website.
Polygon reports that at least one leaker has been identified. The person in question was a freelancer for the Portuguese website FNintendo. The leaker was given an advanced copy of Pokémon Sword and Shield for review purposes. Unfortunately, that individual did the wrong kind of reporting to the wrong people well outside of established rules. FNintendo released a statement on its website explaining how this hurts them, but ultimately taking responsibility for the freelancer's actions:
"Nintendo offered us a copy of the game for review purposes, with clear embargo guidelines, to which we agreed. This copy was then sent to one of our reviewers, who leaked the information. Following the investigation, FNintendo severed its relationship with this reviewer.
Our relationship with Nintendo Portugal dates back 11 years, but our part in this leak is a clear breach of the confidentiality agreement between us, and, as a result, a total breach of trust with Nintendo."
Nintendo has blacklisted FNintendo, which will no longer be invited to events or given products from Nintendo as a result. The company apologized to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for this massive breach of trust and for failing "to handle the review materials with sufficient care."
When game companies trust people to know information that has not yet been released, clear guidelines are established. One of the most basic is usually an agreement that certain information will not be revealed until a certain date and time. While the freelancer broke the rules, the publication is ultimately responsible for it. Unfortunately, this means that one person's actions hurt everyone else associated with FNintendo. While leaks are an exciting way to learn about an upcoming game, there are repercussions for leaking info – and one of those is that the leaker effectively becomes ground zero for an explosion that engulfs everyone around them.
Pokémon Sword and Shield are available on the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Polygon