A Twitter user who has successfully leaked some of the biggest announcements from E3 before the company press conferences says they’ve been served with a cease and desist order from a Nintendo lawyer.
After promising Nintendo spoilers, the leaker, who goes by the name Sabi on Twitter, said the account will no longer be sharing information before the Nintendo Direct press conference on Tuesday.
While leaks before E3 are common, this is perhaps the first time Nintendo has reportedly flexed its legal muscle to stop spoilers from ruining the show. A Nintendo spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.
https://twitter.com/New_WabiSabi/status/1137914596289679365
While it’s unclear what Sabi knows about Nintendo, the account has a successful track record of spoiling E3 this year. The person behind the account shared information about announcements from Microsoft, Bethesda, Ubisoft, and Square Enix, all of which was confirmed at their respective E3 press conferences this week in Los Angeles.
Sabi even nailed one of the biggest headlines from E3 this year, noting ahead of the press conference that Keanu Reeves will be in Cyberpunk 2077.
It’s unclear who Sabi is or how they are privy to information before the press conferences. The account was created in September 2015, but its first available tweet is from August 2018.
Sabi’s Twitter bio says the account owner is based in East Lansing, Mich., and is a “journalist and (non)Nintendo Leaker due to the Ninjas.” It is common for game companies to ask journalists to sign non-disclosure agreements, and to then brief them ahead of time so they can prepare their stories.
Despite dangling the promise of Nintendo spoilers in front of its 10,000 followers all weekend, the Sabi account says leaking announcements from the Japanese gaming company is no longer worth the legal risk.
While the Nintendo cease and desist letter was enough to stop the spoilers, Sabi still plans to continue leaking announcements from other game companies.
“I’m not gonna stop sharing stuff. I’m just not allowed to post stuff from Nintendo is all,” the account tweeted on Sunday. “You’ve seen that things I’ve shared from bethesda, ubisoft, etc have been 100% legit. I’ll still share non-nintendo stuff for you all!”
Nintendo kicked off E3 by letting gamers try a live demo of Luigi’s Mansion 3. However, the big news is set for Nintendo’s E3 press conference on Tuesday, which is scheduled to be streamed at 12 p.m. ET.
Don’t forget to tune in to #NintendoDirect | #E32019 Tuesday at 9am PT for a video presentation featuring around 40 minutes of information about upcoming #NintendoSwitch games releasing in 2019!
Watch live here: https://t.co/7Kiz5KBOkF pic.twitter.com/MbmqJavSbj
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 9, 2019
Nintendo’s announcements are scheduled to last 40 minutes, and will be packed with news about upcoming Nintendo Switch games, including the newest character in Super Smash Bros.
