Nintendo has confirmed that those responsible for the leak of many pictures and details from Pokémon Sword and Shield will no longer be engaged.
Pokémon Sword and Shield suffered from several high profile leaks before release, with many of the Pokémon from the Pokédex being revealed before the embargo dropped for the game. The leak broke the non-disclosure agreement, commonly used between a publisher and members of the press to ensure that articles such as reviews are publicly released when agreed upon with the publisher.
The source of the leaks came from the Portuguese website FNintendo, where the writer that was responsible with the review copy leaked information from that game early. FNintendo has now stated that the writer responsible is no longer affiliated with them.
It does not appear as though Nintendo will be seeking legal action against the company, but has released this statement:
In early November, Nintendo identified a number of photographs taken from game play that revealed multiple new and unannounced Pokémon from Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. These photographs had been posted online and Nintendo, together with The Pokémon Company, quickly identified the person responsible for these leaks, and took immediate action.
These Pokémon were leaked by a reviewer for the Portuguese website FNintendo, who had received an early copy of the game for review purposes. Both he and FNintendo failed to handle confidential material, resulting in a clear breach of the confidentiality agreement between Nintendo and the media outlet. As a result, Nintendo will no longer work with FNintendo.
Nintendo will always protect its intellectual property and brands. Leaks hurt not just Nintendo, but the thousands of employees who work hard to bring games to market, and the millions of fans around the world who look forward to news and surprises.
To surprise and delight players through new experiences is a shared passion for Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. We will pursue all avenues to preserve surprises for players of future Pokémon titles.
Nintendo
Nintendo has been fiercely protective of its IPs in the past, and the severing of ties should come as no surprise. The leaks did not seem to affect sales of the game, as the two reached 16 million units sold last month.
