Nintendo & Pokemon Co. track Pokemon Sword & Shield info leak back to a gaming press member, cut all ties with the outlet

Nintendo and Pokemon Co. suffered an absolutely huge leak on Pokemon Sword and Shield before the games launched, with tons of details scattered about online for all to see. Nintendo and Pokemon Co. obviously weren't happy about this, and they set out to track down the person/people responsible. Unbelievably, the two companies have managed to find the exact source behind the leak, and it was a member of the gaming press.

It turns out the leak came from a member of the Portuguese Nintendo fan-site FNintendo. Nintendo and Pokemon Co. have cut all ties with the site, and shared the statement below.

“In early November, Nintendo identified a number of photographs taken from game play that revealed multiple new and unannounced Pokemon from Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield.

These photographs had been posted online and Nintendo, together with The Pokemon Company, quickly identified the person responsible for these leaks, and took immediate action.

These Pokemon 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.

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 Pokemon Company. We will pursue all avenues to preserve surprises for players of future Pokemon titles.”

FNintendo has commented on the matter, saying they cut all ties with the staffer, and also apologized to Nintendo and Pokemon Co.. With that said, it's very unlikely either company will work with the site again. You can see FNintendo's full statement below.

At the beginning of November, a series of off-screen photographs leaked multiple new and unannounced Pokémon from Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. We want to take this opportunity to openly admit to our readers that FNintendo was responsible for leaking some of these photos.

Nintendo offered us a copy of the game for review purposes, with clear embargo guidelines, to which we agreed. This copy was then sent to one of our reviewers, who leaked the information. Following the investigation, FNintendo severed its relationship with this reviewer.

Our relationship with Nintendo Portugal dates back 11 years, but our part in this leak is a clear breach of the confidentiality agreement between us, and, as a result, a total breach of trust with Nintendo.

We recognise it is impermissible to break embargo guidelines and we failed to handle the review materials with sufficient care. We fully respect Nintendo’s decision to cancel the confidentiality agreement between our companies as a result of this breach of trust, and accept that we will no longer receive products from Nintendo, nor will we be invited to attend their events.

We want to apologise to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and to our readers for letting them down.