History ContentLeak / VideoGames

** A very infamous example was the leak of the Water Island Mythical, Anglow and it's Dreamthyical Pinghound.

* The Creator/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo was victim to this in 2019, as [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]], Creator/{{Bethesda}}, Creator/{{Ubisoft}}, and Creator/SquareEnix all saw their announcements [[https://kotaku.com/twitter-user-who-leaked-most-e3-announcements-says-nint-1835374477 revealed ahead of time on Twitter]] by a leaker known as Sabi. Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s E3 Direct was left alone due to their lawyers stopping the leaker, Sabi, via a cease-and-desist beforehand.

* E3 2019 [[https://kotaku.com/twitter-user-who-leaked-most-e3-announcements-says-nint-1835374477 saw many reveals leaked ahead of time on Twitter]], prior to the press conferences. The leaks included [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]], Creator/{{Bethesda}}, Creator/{{Ubisoft}}, and Creator/SquareEnix. Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s E3 Direct was left alone due to lawyers stopping the leaker, Sabi, via a cease-and-desist beforehand.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Xbox Series X|And S}} console was long rumored to have a cheaper, less-powerful counterpart called the [[UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS Xbox Series S]]. The console variant's existence was then leaked via the packaging of the Xbox Series X controller. Then someone outright leaked an announcement trailer for the console early September 2020, forcing Microsoft to confirm it and the launch details of both Series S and Series X one week earlier than intended.

* Several plot and character details were leaked on Website/{{Reddit}}, including the in-game TimeSkip.
* Creator/ChrisNiosi announced he was playing male Byleth mere days before he was allowed to, therefore breaking his NDA. Niosi was then [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor removed from the game]] and [[TheOtherMarty replaced by]] Creator/ZachAguilar.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' had several plot and character details leaked on Website/{{Reddit}}, including the in-game TimeSkip.

* Creator/{{Nintendo}} saw a massive amount of internal server data [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020–21_Nintendo_data_leak leaked]] over the course of 2020. Dubbed the "Gigaleak," it contained terabytes of data going back to the late 1980s. This included the source code, early prototypes, and assets for dozens of games such as ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and almost every mainline ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' installment, information on the cancelled titles such as Creator/RetroStudios' "Sheik" game, as well as documentation concerning scrapped peripherals and even consoles (such as a UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS follow-up that was abandoned in favor of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch).

* On June 9th, 2022, the Sony [=PlayStation=] online store leaked the existence of a remake of ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' for UsefulNotes/PlayStation5. Furthermore, the trailer also revealed that a PC version was in the works. This was all before the official announcement on the Summer Game Fest.

* After being SpoiledByTheMerchandise (specifically, an officially licensed carrying case that was seemingly prematurely listed on Amazon and quickly pulled), ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''[='=]s UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port got leaked ''twice'' more: [[https://twitter.com/the_marmolade/status/1166292092315942912 once]] by a French retailer's internal list of titles being posted online, and [[https://kotaku.com/overwatch-comes-to-switch-next-month-1837868458 once]] by Kotaku mere hours before the official announcement.

* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV''[='=]s Season 4 DLC characters were originally planned to be revealed at finals of the EVO 2019 tournament, only for the announcement trailer to be accidentally made available on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} days beforehand. As a result, Yoshinori Ono apologized at EVO for not having any other major announcements for the game, asking the audience to wait for the end of the year for new announcements.

** An update in March 2018 accidentally opened a free raid quest meant for high-level players. It is playable for a few hours, but had [[ObviousBeta numerous glitches]] such as untranslated Japanese text, Uriel's art as a placeholder, very few attack scripts, and no loot rewards. The raid in question revealed that Shiva would become a raid boss battle. Creator/{{Cygames}} quickly advised players not to participate in the raid for the risk of player data corruption. It was removed the day after.

* ''Sugary Spire'', a popular mod for ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'', had its P-rank build leaked online in March 19th, 2023.

** ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI The original game]]'' was leaked due to people noticing that Ubisoft had filed a trademark of the name "''Assassin's Creed''" with the US patent office.

*** It [[https://www.thegamer.com/grand-theft-auto-6-gta-footage-might-have-just-leaked-on-tiktok-development-build/ happened again]] on December 2, 2023, just three days before the release of the game's first trailer. This time, it came courtesy of the ultimate insider source: the son of Rockstar North co-studio head Aaron Garbut, who took a video of his father's work showing off what looked like downtown Vice City and posted it on Website/TikTok. In addition to the video, the leaker also posted details about the map, saying that Vice City would be twice the size of Los Santos, that there would be three major cities and four smaller ones separated by countryside, and that there would be a large lake in the center of the map.

* The untitled next ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' game had not one, but two of these.
** The first one occurred on September 18, 2022. After years of speculation about the next mainline title after ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', a hacker leaked dozens upon dozens of videos and screenshots showcasing an early yet comprehensive and playable build of the next installment in the series, which confirmed the names of the game's two protagonists (Jason and Lucia, the latter being the first canonical female protagonist in ''GTA'' history) and the setting being [[OnlyInMiami Vice City]] in the present day, showed off actual gameplay complete with voice acting for the characters, and much, much more. It quickly went down as one of the largest and most infamous leaks in video game history, and it reached the point where [[https://twitter.com/RockstarGames/status/1571849091860029455 it was confirmed]] [[WordOfGod directly by Rockstar Games]] that, unlike many past "leaks" that were nothing more than fan-made content, this one was the real deal, in the process forcing them to all but officially announce that the game was in development.
** It [[https://www.thegamer.com/grand-theft-auto-6-gta-footage-might-have-just-leaked-on-tiktok-development-build/ happened again]] on December 2, 2023, just three days before the release of the game's first trailer. This time, it came courtesy of the ultimate insider source: the son of Rockstar North co-studio head Aaron Garbut, who took a video of his father's work showing off what looked like downtown Vice City and posted it on Website/TikTok. In addition to the video, the leaker also posted details about the map, saying that Vice City would be twice the size of Los Santos, that there would be three major cities and four smaller ones separated by countryside, and that there would be a large lake in the center of the map.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' franchise:
** The remaster know as ''Grand Theft The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition'' was unintentionally leaked through Kotaku writing about an upcoming "heavily-modded aesthetic" GTA Trilogy remaster using Unreal Engine 4 set for Fall 2021 to time with the 20th anniversary for ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''. Then the GTA net Twitter account found 3 pieces of code for something called gta3/vs/sa unreal added to the Rockstar Games Launcher, the games title was prematurely revealed by the Korean Ratings board on September 30, 2021 as ''Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition'', forum members on GTA forum discovered all the achievement icons for each of the 3 games, new logos containing The Definitive Edition, and the backgrounds for the games' Rockstar Launcher pages all obtained from Rockstar's servers. This led to a proper teaser of the collection on October 8 which then had the leaks extend to achievement descriptions, the system requirements, an unlisted Rockstar Games support page containing the game's final product description, the release date being November 11, and a physical edition aimed for a December release date all before Rockstar confirmed any of the info. On October 22 the day of the official reveal trailer and the official website going up all of the info was confirmed to be true netting ''Grand Theft Auto'''s remaster the nickname of gaming's worst kept secret.
** In mid-September 2022, ''Grand Theft Auto VI'' suffered a massive leak. Previously, all had been confirmed about the project was that it was targeting a release during its parent company’s, Take Two Interactive, 2024 fiscal year. A little under an hour’s worth of footage was published on the official GTA forums by someone who claimed it came from within Take Two itself. While the footage was presumably from very early in development, it spread like wildfire. It also confirmed some long standing rumors like having more than one playable protagonist like its predecessor, including a woman. It included their names as Jason and Lucia, that they were a couple, and their character models as well which had never been known previously. Another rumor that was confirmed was the setting of Vice City. Not much of the story was shown but another rumor that the game was set in the ‘80s was disproven by (among other things) the mention of Jay Norris, a villainous social media CEO from ''GTA V'' in the leak. The leak was confirmed by Take Two the following day who said that they planned to continue development as normal. Two British teenagers were quickly arrested and charged with the hack as part of an organized group. One of them, Arion Kurtaj, was deemed physiologically unfit to stand trial but was found by the jury to have committed the hack. The other whose name is redacted due to being a minor was convicted on the charges.

** In mid-September 2022, ''Grand Theft Auto VI'' suffered a massive leak. Previously, all had been confirmed about the project was that it was targeting a release during its parent company’s, Take Two Interactive, 2024 fiscal year. A little under an hour’s worth of footage was published on the official GTA forums by someone who claimed it came from within Take Two itself. While the footage was presumably from very early in development, it spread like wildfire. It also confirmed some long standing rumors like having more than one playable protagonist like its predecessor, including a woman. It included their names as Jason and Lucia, that they were a couple, and their character models as well which had never been known previously. Another rumor that was confirmed was the setting of Vice City. Not much of the story was shown but another rumor that the game was set in the ‘80s was disproven by (among other things) the mention of Jay Norris, a villainous social media CEO from ''GTA V'' in the leak. The leak was confirmed by Take Two the following day who said that they planned to continue development as normal. Two British teenagers (whose names are redacted due to being minors) were quickly arrested and charged for the hack, although one of them (the alleged mastermind behind the plot) was deemed unfit to stand trial.

** In mid-September 2022, ''Grand Theft Auto VI'' suffered a massive leak. Previously, all had been confirmed about the project was that it was targeting a release during its parent company’s, Take Two Interactive, 2024 fiscal year. A little under an hour’s worth of footage was published on the official GTA forums by someone who claimed it came from within Take Two itself. While the footage was presumably from very early in development, it spread like wildfire. It also confirmed some long standing rumors like having more than one playable protagonist like its predecessor, including a woman. It included their names as Jason and Lucia, that they were a couple, and their character models as well which had never been known previously. Another rumor that was confirmed was the setting of Vice City. Not much of the story was shown but another rumor that the game was set in the ‘80s was disproven by (among other things) the mention of Jay Norris, a villainous social media CEO from ''GTA V'' in the leak. The leak was confirmed by Take Two the following day who said that they planned to continue development as normal.

*** The controversial Gematsu leaks, where one of the site's writers reported information delivered to him regarding the game's roster, including the outlandish addition of the Wii Fit Trainer. The leak named several characters who would go on to be revealed, but was ''brutally'' discredited close to the game's release - it stated that Chrom from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' would be playable, but instead it was revealed that Robin and Lucina would be playable instead, Chrom appearing only as part of Robin's [[LimitBreak Final Smash]]. In addition, another named character (the Chorus Men from ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven'') ultimately ended up being a bust, though there are DummiedOut files within the game that suggest they [[WhatCouldHaveBeen may have been scrapped]].

* Creator/{{Nintendo}} saw a massive amount of internal server data [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020–21_Nintendo_data_leak leaked]] over the course of 2020. Dubbed the "Gigaleak," it included assets such as partial source code for ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' (including a model for Luigi, whose date of discovery coincidentally lined up with the old "L is Real 2401" urban legend in several ways), several early prototypes for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'', early assets for ''VideoGame/{{Animal Crossing|2001}}'', and data for various cancelled games and peripherals.