In response to leaked images from an unreleased art book for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo has taken legal action, subpoenaing Discord to identify the person responsible for the leak. The subpoena was filed by a lawyer representing Nintendo of America on April 7, as reported by TorrentFreak.
The notice specifically targets the unofficial Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Discord server, where the leaked art book was shared. Nintendo is requesting names, addresses, phone numbers, and/or email addresses associated with the user who posted the leak, who appears to have since deleted their Discord account.
The subpoena states that any information obtained will solely be used to protect the rights granted to Nintendo of America under the Copyright Act. Legal correspondence between Nintendo and Discord confirms that the company had previously filed DMCA complaints, requesting the removal of the leaked images.
Interestingly, some users within the Discord server were assigned the role of “The PDF Pirate,” indicating that they were a source for PDF files containing the infringing art book images. This bold move highlights the audacity of leakers.
Nintendo is known for its aggressive protection of intellectual property and its litigious nature. They have previously collaborated with social media companies to identify and locate leakers of their games, including major franchises such as Pokémon. This won’t be the first time they are taking such action, and it likely won’t be the last either.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a highly anticipated action-adventure game set to release in 2023 for the Nintendo Switch. Developed by Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo, this sequel to 2017 hit The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild maintains many features from its predecessor, such as the expansive open-world setting of Hyrule. This time, however, the environment allows for increased vertical exploration. The game’s protagonist, Link, is accompanied by Zelda as they face a sinister force determined to bring destruction to Hyrule.
The idea for a sequel emerged after the development team realized that the downloadable content (DLC) for Breath of the Wild could not accommodate all their creative concepts. Consequently, director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and producer Eiji Aonuma returned to helm Tears of the Kingdom. The gaming community got its first glimpse of the sequel during a teaser trailer at E3 2019, followed by a full reveal at E3 2021. The game’s title was officially announced in a September 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation. Initially slated for release in 2022, the launch date has been rescheduled to May 12, 2023.