Another of Nintendo's first-party games has been leaked on the internet almost a week before its release. This time its Splatoon 3, the much-hyped threequal to the company's pet project, which is already in some players' hands ahead of its September 9 release date.
It's important to clarify what is meant by a leak most often, and certainly so in this case, because it's not a bug or a disgruntled company employee trying to sabotage a game launch; it's simply that retail copies received early, and the footage is being shared on Reddit. Splatoon 3 is getting a lot of attention, while cracked versions of the game are reported to have already been released for PC.
The majority of suspicious sites claim to be offering free downloads, or password-locked builds with the key hidden behind all manner of costly bullshit. Its all best avoided.
The r/Splatoon subreddit has announced its intention to remove any posts that contain previously unrevealed parts of the game's narrative, on the basis that they are considered spoilers. However, this isnt a prurient response to the games leaking, but rather their standard approach to spoilers, which will come into force once the game is officially released.
Read More: Early Pokemon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl Leak
Nintendo is in a position, aspotential cracked PC versions asideno one who has mistakenly received a retail copy is doing anything wrong. Members of the public have done no such thing. If their shop has given out or mailed a copy early, then they may post footage, write about the story, and do whatever they like.
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The vast majority of people who are waiting for their copy this Friday do not want their experience ruined by the very few who missed it early. For them, it can be a real struggle to keep from watching spoiler-filled videos and posts while enjoying the pre-release hype. They might very well appreciate Nintendo's grey army having such content deleted.
You might ask: Who is really enjoying Splatoon 3 for the mystery? Of course, other than the answer being, loads of people, there's nothing to spoil, given that the multiplayer modes were previously revealed, and the servers to play it aren't even online until the game launches.
Nintendos first-party releases are now pretty much de rigueur, as has happened in the past year for Metroid Dread, the summers Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl release, and JulysXenoblade Chronicles 3.
Be extra careful with what you watch and read if you're planning on experiencing Splatoon 3 completely fresh this Friday.