What is this, a yearly occasion? I swear it was about this time last year that the Internet was gathering around to take a naughty look at the GTA VI leaks before swearing blind that they never once saw them for fear of being hunted down by Rockstar's team of elite assassins. And here we are again, discussing another leak of- would you believe it- even larger proportions! Not because this is a bigger company or a bigger game, per se- that would be literally impossible. Rather because this is perhaps one of the worst leaks of information I think we've ever seen, where there's so much floating around the web right now I'm genuinely fearful for the safety of the staff- yes, it goes that deep! And, well- someone is probably going to be losing their job for failing safety protocols- that one is pretty much for certain.
You've probably already seen the headlines, and it is fact- Insomniac games got themselves held ransom by a hacker collective who made off with 1.67 terrabytes worth of data that they held for a $2 million bounty. Paid in Crypto, of course, were it the case that Insomniac handed over the money. As it happens they didn't, whether out of bravado, fear, or because Sony told them not to, and the consequence has been the most horrendous tidal wave of leaked information one could imagine. If Grand Theft Auto's leak was like a natural disaster for the development team, you can call this a unnatural apocalypse- there is no way this isn't going to have a huge effect on the development process as the team scrambles to get ahold of just how much is in the public hands. And the biggest leak out of this mess? The unrevealed Wolverine game.
Well, 'unrevealed' is a bit of an overstatement. We had a gameplay-deprived teaser trailer announcing the team got the go-ahead to make the thing at some point- but I don't think anyone expected that our first glimpse of engine running footage would be unfinished pre-alpha testing stuff. This is pretty much the worst possible scenario for any marketing team, and I can only imagine the developers have locked away all internet access, for no other clearer reason than perhaps to save themselves from inevitable brain rot takes of' "Pff, this game dun look too good!" There's no saving it. Some truly unevolved strains of direct neanderthalian blood have already started their ragging on the visuals, animations and general aesthetic of this game that hasn't even made it to it's first ultrasound yet, let alone been born. Apparently these geniuses all looked like sculpted Michelangelo in the womb! I mean afterall, what was it that cretin said last time? "Duh, visuals are the first thing completed in game development! Everyone noes dat!" Some genepools have obviously spread too far.
Want to know what's even more depressing to hear? Apparently some of the files leaked were working builds of the early alphas. Of course none of this software has been published into workable executables outside of a developer kit PS5- but if anyone happens to have their hands on such a piece of hardware, (which isn't exactly common but you know how resourceful Internet people can be) then they could feasibly play this early build for themselves. What's worse than a leak of footage? A potential infinite font of leaks that are made fresh because of the stolen game files. That's enough to drive a man to drink, or maybe just early retirement.
Of course we've also heard news on general release dates of topics which has revealed some upsetting trends. I'm sure Hideo Kojima is just giddy to hear that this project we heard announced a year ago wasn't planning to make a debut until 2026! Isn't that just lovely? More games that get themselves fancy trailers when their still glints in their publisher's eyes, leading on people by a spaghetti thread of hype through most of a damned decade! Because that's a reasonable amount of time to expect to fill someone's headspace! Seriously- what is the benefit of these stupidly early reveals? Let other, closer, titles take the spotlight fully whilst you fiddle about with your overblown 200 million dollar masturbatory AAA why don't you! God, I'm sick of this industry's marketing stupidity.
The leaks also reach out to Insomniac's entire release library for the coming years meaning we also know about Venom, their return to one of their beloved old school franchises and even another dream game that I won't spoil here, but provided the team make it until 2030- it will be quite the major Marvel gaming event. I would be excited but... well, I honestly expecting the Nuclear Fallout to wash over us and send us to Bethesda land before we reach the 2030's. (God, it is insane that gaming has reached the point where we're planning seven years ahead! How long do you think Bethesda are planning, considering they think Starfield is going to live on until 2033?) Oh, and we also know that the team aren't abandoning the Spider-Man franchise for their other key projects. They want to wrap that whole thing up before moving onto their next franchise. (At least that's job security for ya.)
But here's the crazy thing. Personal, identifiable information about the actual development staff at Insomniac found itself into these leaks, essentially doxing the workers of this project to the entire internet full of mount-breathing wierdoes who likely wouldn't pass a psyche evaluation to join the army. (And is it really hard to fail an army psyche eval.) I mean sure, 99% of people looking at all these leaks couldn't care less about that stuff. But the 1% who do look it up? Well, they're likely the same 1% who are only currently with the rest of us on the internet right now as a stop gap on their way to a small box in an institute. Penal or otherwise. Real people's safety has potentially been put into jeopardy hear and that is not a matter that should just be brushed over!
Overall, this has been one hell of a bad week for the fellows at Insomniac games- probably vastly out shadowing their recent nominations for best game of the year. You just really don't expect to receive a blow to the testes like this when you sit down to make a project, and I know that personally I would rather chew out someone's eyes than show them an uncompleted little draft of a piece that I'm writing. Nothing is worse than that feeling of all your insecurities laid bare before you've had to appropriately pave over them with professionalism and grit. I can't say I'm personally excited for the prospect of seeing some of these belated release dates get themselves knocked back as well, although considering Insomniac's track record I wasn't going to be playing Wolverine until 2031 anyway, so I'm not exactly weeping either. They still don't deserve this however, just to be clear.
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