Nintendo execs might be notorious enforcers when it comes to copyrighted content, but endeavor as they may with a number of harsh security measures, they still couldn’t stop The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom from somehow finding its way onto the internet.
Indeed, earlier today, clips and images started circulating online that featured a ton of story and gameplay spoilers for the long-anticipated sequel to Breath of the Wild. What’s even more baffling is the fact that these appear to be from an emulator running the game on PC, so perhaps Nintendo should really think more seriously about that hardware upgrade to Switch.
Plot details for Tears of the Kingdom had been kept tightly under wraps to this point, but fans of the game should tread online circles extra carefully for the next two weeks, lest they inadvertently spoil a major narrative beat for themselves. And sure, The Legend of Zelda isn’t a game that necessarily flies by the strength of its intricate story, but that doesn’t mean gamers would appreciate giveaways of this kind. Far from it, in fact.
The fandom is out in force trying to take the edge off of concerns, but as one user astutely pointed out, you should probably implement some measures against spoilers, such as muting The Legend of Zelda keywords on social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube.
Other folks claim to have received physical copies already, so even if the illegal ROM hadn’t posted the game data for use, Tears of the Kingdom spoilers were still inevitable.
Only 10 days separate us from playing Tears of the Kingdom on our Nintendo Switch devices, so stay safe out there.