The lights are on
Details of Bungie’s latest game leaked online yesterday, and it led us to start thinking about some of video game’s biggest leaks of the past.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – About six months before the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and before the game was even officially announced, a huge glut of information about the game appeared online offering tons of details on everything from the new aspects of multiplayer, to the plot details of the storyline. If you read through all the documents that appeared online, nothing was a mystery or a surprise when you finally got to play the game.
Half-Life 2 – Half-Life 2 was the unfortunate victim of a leak, but it didn’t get quite as out of hand as Modern Warfare 3. The source for the game was stolen and everyone at Valve had a panic attack, but they jumped on the thief early and the code that made it online ended up not revealing a ton of details about the game, as Valve was still hard at work adding new stuff. The man who hacked into Valve’s network and stole the file has since apologized and promised to purchase all of Valve’s games with hard-earned money.
Doom 4 – Doom 4 is a real thing that id has acknowledged it is working on, so what leaked wasn’t an unplanned early announcement or anything like that. It was a collection of over 170 images that featured characters models, concept art, and environment images. Design director Matt Hooper acknowledged the leak, but also said that the final product has all kinds of stuff that didn’t show up in any of those images.
Mass Effect 3 – The multiplayer beta for Mass Effect 3 accidentally went live a little bit sooner than BioWare wanted it to, which wouldn’t have been too bad, but people picked apart the files to find story details for the unreleased game.
Sony – Sony has a long history with leaks, whether it be the accidental reveal of unannounced hardware, or the leaking of personal information of all of its users. Every time a new model of PlayStation 3 has been placed into production, it seems to get leaked. The PSP Go was prematurely revealed, as was PlayStation Home. The recent PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale went through all kinds of leaks before it finally released. Even the trailer for The Last Guardian, which was called Project Trico when it leaked, released earlier than planned.
How do you feel about games leaking early? Is it exciting? Or something you don't like seeing? Sound off in our reader discussion!
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Wasn't there a (possible) leak recently on the Wii U with Devil Summoner Soul Hackers for the 3DS?
On an off note, Leeks are a refreshing addition to an every day salad!
Dang too bad Mass effect was one of the games that got leaked before released. Iv'e heard that it had another ending but when it was leaked they had to change the endings. That and it's probably why it was not released in 2011 like it was going too. Multiplayer also was reason for that as well. But it was still a great game. Still my favorite series. I hope they don't have this problem for the 4th mass effect game.
I never trust them. I like to have info about a game that seems interesting to me of coarse lol, but it's not like it's going to make the game come out sooner or anything, so I don't really see the point.
I hate leaks. The developers work so hard to surprise everyone with their new games and then someone ruins it.
If there are a couple leaks that are rumored and look fake... I like it, if there alot then no, not at all.
I like to be well informed, but leaked info crosses the line. I'd prefer a company to disclose information when they are ready to show it. I feel like leaks that get things wrong hurt gamers with unexpected final products.I think leaks that get it right ruin a companies chance to reveal shocking information that creates a lot of buzz about their products as well. Rumor is fine I guess, but genuine stolen information isn't.
*Looks at final picture* ....NEGI!!!! Sorry had a Miku moment there.
Oh Sony. You're always getting hacked by something. Seriously, get on that.
I hated that the Halo 4 story was leaked several weeks before the release. At least it didn't spread too widely, so I couldn't have the game spoiled unless I actively looked for it (which I didn't).
I like how Sony warrants their own section, like the entire company's history is just one continuous leak.
I feel like a lot times companies "leak" information as a form of advertising that's free and gains heaps of attention.
dont really mind. as long as campaign isnt ruined for me. otherwise its whatever. didnt even know cod leaked and in the sony column im pretty sure it needs to say leeks....
I can't say I've ever tried leeks.
I don't really like the leaks of today games, because leaks are either completely wrong or completely right, and it ruins blindly going into whatever i would be going into. The leaks are beginning to be a much more common thing, and dissolves the effect i use to have when buying games.
I avoid leaks like the devil. When a game releases, I like to play through it without prior knowledge of the story line. Sometimes I even avoid official information released about games I'm really looking forward to; I mainly wait for spoiler-free reviews and scores to feel out a game.
I wonder how many of these "leaks" are actually planned publicity stunts. Get people online and researching the leak so they can get more excited about a game.