Were you the kid around Christmas growing up that would try really hard to find the hidden Christmas presents and see what you are getting? If you did happen to find them, Christmas Day was never the same was it. Sure you were excited to finally get that new toy or game, but it just didn’t feel the same when you already knew it was coming. That’s kind of what it feels like being a gamer these days with the constant leaks and rumors and truthfully, it sucks and is ruining a big part of the gaming industry.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last month or so, you’ve probably heard roughly 253 rumors about an Oblivion Remaster or Remake. In this day and age of social media where being first matters most, I get why insiders and leakers do what they do. I may not like it, but I at least understand it….when it’s accurate information. Some of them were fairly accurate, some were just flat out wrong. Bethesda finally confirmed what all the leakers have been saying by telling us there would be an Oblivion reveal (as of the time of this being published) is a few hours away.
The excitement for it is high. Oblivion, and the Elder Scrolls franchise in general, are revered and loved. But I can’t help but wonder how much more excitement there would be if this announcement came out of no where. Of course it wouldn’t be a complete surprise as Microsoft revealed it in court documents during the Activision trial. But still if we had no lead up this past month on when Oblivion is coming, it would land much bigger than it is.
You Gotta Feel For The Developers
This doesn’t just affect gamers and their excitement either. The developers have likely been planning this reveal and getting excited about it in the offices, only to have it leaked out before hand. Imagine something you’ve worked hard on to prepare just gets thrown out, not on your own accord, but by getting leaked. It’s got to suck.
It’s unfortunate enough when it happens by accident from the developers or publishers themselves, let alone from these leakers. Just recently someone at 2K accidentally leaked the release date for the upcoming Mafia: The Old Country. Again I can only imagine how well that would have hit during PAX East like it was supposed to rather than how it got out that day. That reveal will still be good because we will presumably see more of the game, but the wind has been taken out of the sails a bit now.
It’s Worse When Things Aren’t True
Now when these leaks happen, like I’ve said it sucks. But when the “leaks” aren’t even correct? It just leads to upset people. Again with Oblivion a lot of people expected it to shadow release on the 20th due to what had been out there with some of these reports. Granted it wasn’t widely spread, but it was still out there enough to get people upset. Even when I was promoting our article about the news I was getting comments of “I thought it was coming out today what the hell?!”
And unfortunately there’s too many instances of this. I feel like we’ve been told Hollow Knight: Silksong is going to be at the Xbox showcase, or the Game Awards or insert game show here for what feels like a decade now,only for it to never show up. Then the developers take heat for it despite not being the ones who said it would show up in the first place. It gets exhausting.
Speaking of these big shows, how often do we get a bunch of the big reveals leaked early? It's almost come to the point where if you want to be surprised you need to stay off social media for a few days before they take place.
I know at the end of the day this will never change. Insiders will continue to exist as well as leakers, and clearly there are people out there that want this information or these people wouldn’t have followings to begin with. They are simply doing what they are known for and using their connections. But man it simply sucks.
