Early leaks of games that have not yet been released stir up public interest, but spoil the effect of official presentations and put a spoke in the wheels of developers. It’s not always the case that leakers get what they deserve, but in the case of the Cyberpunk 2077 leak, the punishment found its recipient.
Back in 2020, a gamer under the nickname Siriondel leaked photos of maps and postcards from the physical edition of Cyberpunk 2077 to the network. He received access to them through his work – he was an employee of a printing house that produced merch for the game. After the leak, management called the workers on the carpet, and Siriondel admitted his guilt.
The unfortunate leaker was immediately handed over to the police, where he had to prove that he had no motivation to make a profit. As a result, instead of a multimillion-dollar fine and trial, Siriondel got away with restriction of freedom and community service for a period of eight months – all this time he had to wash floors and toilets in public places, clean up parking lots and sweep sidewalks. Siriondel himself concluded that the leaks weren’t worth it and advised others to “not be such idiots.”