Pokémon Sword and Shield might not be due to arrive for another week as yet, but large portions of the games are already common knowledge, thanks to a number of major leaks.
The floodgates swung open last weekend when an individual claiming to have an early copy started posting in-game screenshots of the Switch exclusives. Everything from story and plot details, to the entirety of Galar’s Pokédex, has subsequently been revealed ahead of official launch, no doubt causing endless frustration for developer Game Freak.
So widespread have the leaks become in recent days, however, that Nintendo has started taking action against those responsible, using its rights as publisher to have the worst offenders scrubbed from the internet. Several Twitter and YouTube users found to be responsible have since been hit with copyright strikes, with the accounts @CentroLeaks and @LeaksPokémon either being forced to remove all their offending content or being outright suspended.
Popular Pokémon YouTuber Austin John Plays has since posted a video addressing the bans, stating that they managed to escape unscathed by deleting any potentially incriminating content. He also urges anyone else discussing them to be wary going forward.
A wholly unsurprising turn of events, then, and though Nintendo is completely justified in its decision, one can only wonder why it waited so long before taking action. One possibility is that it might not have wanted to give any of the ‘rumors’ credibility by acknowledging their existence, but that ship has long since sailed.
If you’ve yet to see any of the leaks and aren’t bothered by spoilers, you can head through here for our coverage.
As for those fans who would prefer to go in blind on release day, you’ll likely want to maintain an internet blackout until Pokémon Sword and Shield arrive on November 15th.
