The ‘Arcane’ season 2 leak, explained

It’s been 84 years since we last saw Arcane — well, at least, that’s what it feels like. Season 1 premiered on Netflix in Nov. 2021, and since then, we’ve only had a few poster releases and one too-short trailer. Oh, and some episode leaks — but that’s hardly what we were hoping for.

Admittedly, the leaking of episodes is always a paradoxical dilemma for fans. On one hand, we want to support the creators and animators by watching the show legally and experiencing it alongside everyone else when it officially drops — there’s a sense of camaraderie in that shared experience. On the other hand… the leaked episodes are right there, just a click away — but we must stay strong. To be fair, no one expected Arcane to be among the leaked titles, forcing us to confront this morally complex decision.

But yet, here we are.

Was Arcane Season 2 leaked online?

Yes, Arcane was among several animated titles leaked on Netflix due to a security breach. Just yesterday, we saw a slew of fall anime titles leaked ahead of their scheduled October and November releases, including Dandadan, Ranma ½, The SpongeBob Movie, and Terminator Zero. This may be one of the biggest leak crises in Netflix’s history, and unfortunately, Arcane has fallen victim to it.

The streamer is yet to release a statement about the incident, but fans are already reacting on social media. From spoiler warnings to fans celebrating the leaked content, it seems that everyone who watches animated shows is well aware of the current breach. Unfortunately, this also highlights the vulnerability of streaming services worldwide.

This isn’t the first time Netflix has been affected by a data breach. According to FirewallTimes, in 2017, episodes of Orange Is the New Black were leaked online. Two years later, Attunity, a data management firm failed to properly secure backup data. Then, in 2021, there was the infamous password breach that affected Gmail, Yahoo, Netflix, and many other services. Well, at the moment, all we can do is hope that the animators and writers of Arcane are fairly compensated for their work, despite this situation.