Hideki Kamiya, the director behind Platinum Games’ Bayonetta series who’s now working on Okami 2 under a new studio, has never been one to hold back. The latest targets of his ire are Switch 2 leakers who basically beat Nintendo to revealing the console weeks ago. Kamiya used the occasion of the new console’s official announcement yesterday to unload on anonymous online users.
“I hope that all those who leaked Switch 2 information will be cursed for the rest of their lives to have poo on the soles of their shoes whenever they go home,” Kamiya wrote on social media according to a translation by VGC. “Now that I’ve been able to enjoy the surprise announcement of the new Okami with everyone else, I think all those damn leakers should be cursed.”
Okami 2 was by far the biggest surprise announcement at The Game Awards 2024, with Capcom revealing the sequel to the PS2 cult-classic in the midst of a musical medley played near the end of the show. In addition to the new game being in early development, the second part of the surprise was that Kamiya, who directed the original, would be back to lead the creation of the sequel at a new studio called Clovers.
“The scumbag leaker is only acting for his own pleasure and self-satisfaction,” his rant continued, according to a machine translation of the remarks. “Not only is he not benefitting anyone, he’s also causing all kinds of opportunity losses, and he’s a piece of trash who has nothing to be proud of. He should be covered in shit and thrown out of the atmosphere, and then stop thinking and wander around forever.”
While leaks have always been a major part of video game culture, as rabid fans hunt everywhere for any scrap of possible information about upcoming projects and hardware, in recent years social media and forums have propelled the practice to new heights. The Switch 2 was a perfect example, with major features ranging from magnetic Joy-Con to alleged motherboard specs leaking months ahead of time. Earlier this month, entire 3D printed mock-ups—which turned out to be highly accurate—were circulating at CES 2025.
It’s hard to know what impact, if any, that may have had on Nintendo’s eventual official reveal of the Switch 2 this week. Most of the millions of people who bought the first one probably aren’t glued to their phones checking for every new rumor or bit of speculation. Even so, former Nintendo employees Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang suggested on a recent episode of their podcast that the company was probably infuriated by all of the leaks.
“[Nintendo]’s been disrupted daily, for months, with these leaks, and I’m 100 percent sure they are really mad, to the most severe level,” Yang said. “We joke around but… they are very, very, very upset by this.”
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