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Just a few weeks back, fans were wondering if Nintendo was going to release a special version of the Switch OLED to celebrate The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. We were all waiting for an official announcement from the Big N, but we got tipped off a bit early due to a GameStop employee sharing some inside info.

A GameStop employee took to Reddit to share a picture he took of GameStop’s internal release listings. That picture showed a generic Switch SKU that had been added to the system alongside a placeholder date. That in and of itself didn’t confirm a Zelda-themed Switch OLED, but it certainly seemed to hint at one.

As you now know, Nintendo does indeed have a Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch OLED in the works, and the listing the GameStop employee shared was spot-on. Unfortunately for that employee, Nintendo was none too pleased that even a hint of their future plans was leaked.

The GameStop employee that snapped the picture was called into his store on April 5th, 2023 only to find out that he was in some hot water. His store keys were taken, he was placed on suspension, and he was told his final punishment could result in being let go from GameStop. That would be the most severe punishment dished out for the leak, and in the end, that’s exactly what happened to the employee.

While not confirmed by Nintendo, multiple people close to the situation have said that Nintendo themselves were pushing GameStop hard to remedy the situation. GameStop felt their hands were tied in the matter, leading to the employee’s firing.

[Kotaku]

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Comments (7)

totodile

12M ago

Wholly deserved. Good on GameStop for following through.


hawk

12M ago

I don't know why people risk their jobs to leak stuff. They get that brief rush of "look how special I am", and it's gone in a short time when the thing is announced naturally. Nobody's life will be saved by knowing in advance that a new kind of Switch will be sold.


golfdude

12M ago

hes as good as fired.. taking the keys means that.. suspension is just a cheap word they use to string you along... they will ghost him and not even tell him he was fired.. and hope he just forgets and moves on... its a very common LP tactic.. say its a "suspension" and takes your keys.. but in reality it just means your fired, now get lost..


tendonin

12M ago

He’d have deserved it even if it was a listing for a random T-shirt, or a menu item if he worked at a restaurant. It’s a basic breach of trust, not whistleblowing.


enthropy

12M ago

@tendonin

"It’s a basic breach of trust, not whistleblowing."

So much this. And probably a breach of his/hers contract too. It's not fun to loose your job, but this person was asking for it.


bluespheal

12M ago

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Leak culture is so dumb, God have mercy on the person who leaked the artbook, I feel firing is the least of their worries at this point.


nintendojitsu

12M ago

The perfect ratio of Fuck Around: Find Out.