Nintendo Has Cut Ties With Video Game Website Over POKÉMON SWORD & POKÉMON SHIELD Leak

Before the then-highly anticipated Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield released, there was a massive leak that gave players their first unofficial look at some of the brand-new Pokémon that were going to be introduced in the game. The information itself was leaked by a website called FNintendo; a Portuguese website that was actually affiliated with Nintendo at the time.

Nintendo has recently issued a joint statement in which they have offered more details about the information that was leaked in November about Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield; confirming that they are no longer working with the aforementioned website.

"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," the satement issued by Nintendo reads.

Nintendo then reveals that "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."

As the statement goes on, Nintendo also clarifies that they have severed all ties with both the website and the person who leaked these images.

"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 is a company well-known for being protective of their intellectual properties; successfully managing to shut down popular emulator websites, as well as video game projects made by fans. While some may agree that Nintendo is way too protective of their intellectual property, the Japanese company is well within their right to do whatever they please in order to protect what's theirs.

Leaking those Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield images and openly taking credit for it, while already being somewhate affiliated with Nintendo, is definitely a poorly thought-out idea that further proves never to get on Nintendo's bad side; or any self-respecting developer, for that matter.