Copies Of Kingdom Hearts 3 Have Been Stolen And Leaked A Month And A Half Before Release

TheGamer

By Sam Watanuki

Published Dec 19, 2018

Over 30 copies of the long-awaited and highly-anticipated Square Enix title, Kingdom Hearts 3, were recently stolen and attempted to be sold online.

via DigitalTrends.com

If battle royale titles were the trend for 2018, it seems a new, far more disturbing trend is already ramping up as we make our way into 2019. Following along the same lines as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate having leaked early to the public, another big-name title has reportedly leaked well over a month before its official release date.

Over 30 copies of the long-awaited and highly-anticipated Square Enix title, Kingdom Hearts 3, were recently stolen and attempted to be sold on the Facebook Marketplace for $100 each. The Marketplace posting has since been removed, but video footage and images - including the game’s epilogue and secret movie - have already been making the rounds online.

Kingdom Hearts 3 Director Tetsuya Nomura issued a statement that was posted to the game’s Twitter page, acknowledging the incident and indicating that they are “aware as to how this all happened.” He also asked fans not to share any of the video footage as a way to combat any potential spoilers, while expressing gratitude to fans for their understanding.

The Kingdom Hearts 3 leak becomes the second occurrence in less than a month in which a full game has been circulated publicly before the official launch date. The first instance was Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which occurred after the game had been delivered to retail stores. In the case of Kingdom Hearts 3, the leak occurred at the distribution level, which is likely one of the reasons why the root cause was solved as quickly as it was.

While the leak is unfortunate, especially considering the 13-year wait that fans have had to put up with, the positive take away is just how caring and committed the Kingdom Hearts community has been and continues to be.

Scrolling through the comments of various Twitter threads - including that of Kingdom Hearts 3 voice actor, Quinton Flynn - it is pretty clear that this leak or any other potential spoilers will not be condoned by the community. The general consensus amongst Kingdom Hearts fans seems to be that of patience. Why would we want to spoil the story or in-game content instead of finally being able to experience the game for ourselves? We have waited 13-long years for Kingdom Hearts 3. Another month will be a walk in the park.

Be sure to stay tuned to The Gamer when we bring you our review of Kingdom Hearts 3 when it officially releases for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 29, 2019.