Despite constant preventive measures to ensure it doesn’t happen, major game releases somehow always wind up getting in the hands to people way too early. Fortunately, the Kingdom Hearts 3 leaker seems to have been caught.
Quinton Flynn, who voices Axel/Lea (it’s… a long story) in the game, wrote on Twitter that someone had been leaking footage of the game from copies that were acquired weeks before the game’s January 29 release. Up to 30 copies may have been stolen, but according to Flynn, the person responsible may already have been caught.
Last I heard they captured the guy responsible.
— Quinton Flynn Official (@quintonflynn) December 16, 2018
Images have popped up showing a person holding the Xbox One version of the game, placing now deleted listings on Facebook Marketplace. The leaker’s actions teed off YouTubers and Reddit users alike, bringing the leaker’s actions to light.
Heads up, Kingdom Hearts fans:
The full version (!) of KH3 appears to be out in the wild (some screenshots and videos exist that I won’t share here)
But yeah, be careful on both social media and YouTube pic.twitter.com/6QKhu31IaZ
— Nibel (@Nibellion) December 15, 2018
Tetsuya Nomura, the game’s director, released a statement on Twitter acknowledging the situation. He also wrote that the game’s epilogue and secret ending won’t be released until a later date, meaning even if someone leaked the game, the biggest spoilers won’t be out until after the game’s release, perhaps on launch day via a day one patch:
An important message for #KingdomHearts III from Director Tetsuya Nomura: pic.twitter.com/j9aVRFTS5B
— KINGDOM HEARTS (@KINGDOMHEARTS) December 16, 2018
Someone on Twitter (whose thread can be read here on imgur) claiming to know the leaker says that he has had a history of this kind of behavior and also has a history of selling things illegitimately. According to the thread, this incident may have allegedly taken place at a manufacturing and printing plant in North Carolina.
Kingdom Hearts 3 has had a long development history, which adds to the frustrations of those who want to avoid spoilers. Kingdom Hearts 2 came out well over a decade ago in 2005, and the first teaser footage of its sequel wasn’t shown until E3 2012. In the years since, Kingdom Hearts 3 news has mostly consisted of new worlds and storyline trailers.
Development of the game officially wrapped up back on November 20.
