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It took about 2 seconds for Nintendo’s Mysterious Switch game to leak

It took about 2 seconds for Nintendo’s Mysterious Switch game to leak

Nintendo is working to remove images of its new, unannounced Switch game after the Internet, as expected, leaked it online.

Earlier this month, Nintendo asked those who successfully signed up for the then-mysterious Switch Online Playtest not to reveal what it was once it went live. The documents included a request “not to discuss or disclose any content of the Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program test software or website with others.”

At the time, the internet collectively scoffed at this request. And now it’s all out in the wild. Today, October 21st, before the playtest went live on October 23rd, some users were able to download the playtest, which weighs 2.2GB. Images of this website and its details are now spreading across social media, Discords and subreddits.

The leak appears to have been sparked by X/Twitter user @Ethan_ThisGuy, who posted images from the game testing website along with the post: “I hope Nintendo doesn’t kill me for this.”

spoiler For Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest program test follow:

These images, which Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

According to leaked images from Nintendo’s website, the idea is to work with other players to develop a massive planet using farming resources and building on your own property. Players use beacons that emit a healing light that “purifies and develops the land.” The idea is to place multiple beacons until your planetary block is fully developed.

The player’s beacon sounds like a protected space where only he can move, lift or manipulate objects. Outside of their beacon, it is considered a public space where anyone can work.

There is a “Dev Core” that acts as a player hub. This is where you level up your character, get items and talk to other players. Players earn points for developing the land and socializing with others.

This new game clearly features user-generated content (UGC), and you can share your creations with others. This is very Nintendo: To create UGC, players must pass an in-game test to show they understand “the importance of respectful communication.” Only then will players receive a UGC license and be able to create UGC. There’s a player reporting feature, as you’d expect, which I think will be useful for tackling all of those…certain things that players will inevitably build.

Finally, as Nintendo has signaled, we recommend playing this new game on a TV setup with a cable connection, as it is a server-based experience.

That’s all we have now. It’s strange that Nintendo would insist on such secrecy on what appears to be a relatively straightforward Switch Online MMO (we still don’t know the name of the thing), but hopefully we’ll know more when it actually goes live later this week, and well yes, the whole thing inevitably leaks.

This is a Switch experience for now, but the big question is whether it will be available in the upcoming version Switch 2which Nintendo has not yet officially announced.

Wesley is the UK news editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].