Chances are you’ve already heard about the leaks following the delay of Last of Us 2. Naughty Dog had originally pushed the deadline back in February 2020 in order to polish the game to what they would consider perfect and where they want the game to be. No doubt, fans were heartbroken. Now, they are just angry and heartbroken.
The most current update is that the game will be released June 19, 2020 and was unavoidably held at the final stages due to the coronavirus. What makes the release date push so difficult is the major leaks that popped up online. Although we don’t know who released the information, there is speculation that a disgruntled employee at Naughty Dog may have leaked the information in retaliation for unpaid wages.
This is not an article discussing the leaks or what is contained in them. A lot of debate on the internet is swirling around about if the leaker was justified. Conditions at Naughty Dog have been known to be harsh and unrealistic. This is not why the leaker spread spoilers, this has to do with the person allegedly not getting paid. In retaliation, the leaker released gameplay footage and cut scenes giving away major plot points. These have since been removed, but the spread was too fast. Naughty Dog did take the position to confront the problem and they did verify that the leaks are in fact real and to not look at the footage.
Looking into this a little further. This person may have done this for the right reasons. The whole leak may have been a cry for attention to get the company to change its processes. This would lead to a shift that would create a better environment for the employees. Very possibly, the company may want to settle and pay the person for what they have helped to create.
We, overall, have more “this is wrong” thoughts though. People everywhere have mentioned that leaking this game was selfish and cruel to gamers. Also, this person should not have leaked anything too, because they are pretty much not allowed to be a part of the industry anymore. There could be a myriad of other issues too in the legal sense if Naughty Dog wants to take action against them.
Here are my final thoughts; a shift has occurred for Naughty Dog. They now must pay attention to their staff and do what they said they would per their contracts. Was this the right choice by the person? No, I don’t think so. To play the opposite side though, I have been able to completely avoid any spoilers without really trying. If people are finding the spoilers then this may be due to the fact they read on when they really shouldn’t have.