Pokemon Legends: Arceus Is Being Sold Early and Nintendo Must Be Furious

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is set to launch on Jan. 28, but that hasn't stopped some retailers selling physical copies of the Switch game early. Inevitably, spoilers are being posted online and Nintendo must be fuming.

As Eurogamer reports, images and gameplay footage from Arceus started appearing today across social media. Combined, they spoil pretty much all of the major story elements present in the game. Copyright claims are being used to take the content down, but they can't keep up and many spoilers remain accessible. We won't be sharing any of them here, but be warned that you may inadvertently stumble across a few.

The pre-release leaks were possible because some retailers are selling physical copies of the game early. We know this because photographs have been posted online of people holding their newly-acquired copy and clearly some individuals decided they wanted to spoil the experience for everyone else. They are collectively known as "the worst kind of people."

Arceus is a big release not only for Nintendo, but Pokemon fans, too. It's the first action role-playing game in the mainline Pokemon series, and the open-world nature of the gameplay has more than a few gamers excited about how it could reinvigorate the franchise.

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It's unlikely Nintendo will choose to officially release the game early due to these leaks because all the advertising and promotion will be geared around Jan. 28. For anyone waiting patiently to play the game next Friday, perhaps treat this as a good opportunity to take a break from social media for a few days.

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