Videogame leaks have become far more common in current times thanks to social media and bigger audience anticipating major surprises awaiting on the actual release date.
The situation is far more notorious in live-service games where real money is involved as players try to budget their finances to desired features, characters, or events in advance.
You probably have seen these early leaks, particularly in Hoyoverse games like Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail, while just scrolling through the timeline.
While many players seem to be fine on these so-called "advanced previews" on the game, the actual impact of game leaks are rarely discussed and how it affects the hype surrounding the game.
Also Read : Rockstar Games Requires Employees to Report Five Days per Week to Office to Avoid GTA VI Leak
Unwarranted Spoilers
If there is one major impact game leaks has on any player, it is the prospect of being spoiled.
Not everyone wants to be story spoiled of a highly-anticipated game out of nowhere. It is already difficult avoiding all release-day spoilers, much more if the spoilers come ahead of the game's launch.
For the same being, a small game leak could even further generate hype on a secret project as it did with Insomniac's Wolverine.
The ransomware attack has led to many future titles of the video game studio, among those was the upcoming Wolverine.
So far, Insomniac has only released a short preview clip on the game as it is still under development. The leaks, however, showed some parts of the gameplay, leading many fans of the Spider-Man maker become more excited for its release.
While the cyberattack is a great hit on the company, they are now surer of the people's initial reaction to their game, at least for those who viewed it.
Impact on Earnings
If it is the company publishing the game we are talking about, leaks are more of an adversary to them rather than a double-edged sword.
Revenues on the game will largely be affected by the leaks as people could be discouraged to spend money on early game previews usually still filled with bugs and errors.
Just look to the initial reaction on the massive leak on the Grand Theft Auto VI where many people expressed intentions to not buy the game just because of gameplay footages the developers have long warned to be from unfinished models.
In some cases, it is better to wait for the release date and look for reviews before buying rather than judging a product when it is not even complete yet.
