Where do you think "Leaks" come from?

[Doctor Amadeus]

More specifically when it comes to video games, multi million sometimes billion dollar company's spend money to keep their secrets, which includes other mass media such as TV and Movies, but the question becomes.

Where do you think "Leaks" really come from?


A follow up:


What do you think should be done with those that do leak information civically or maybe criminally ?

Keep in mind sine leaks and information can enrich those that do, and can also help cripple a business.

[Volatilis]

disgruntled employee's as well as sheer dumb luck would be my guess.

They should be fired and i dont see why you would need to go further than that.

[Aurrora]

All of the above?

[s_bushido]

All of the above?

All of the above.

Well, that was easy.

[TEHPALLYTANK]

I'm going to go with "people".

[Yadryonych]

I more wonder where do these thread topics come from

[Zandalarian Paladin]

Leaks comes from (from most common to most uncommon):

1. Trolls who wants to create discord
2. Narcissists looking for attention (It's a real thing. Big difference with #1 is that they seek to be acclaimed as heroes)
3. Fanboys who are 110% sure they have the right answer for what's to come
4. Marketing (It's pretty common for "leaks" to be a marketing strategy, as it creates additional hype in fanbases)
5. Disgruntled employees (common at AAA enterprises with low morale)
6. Overeager employee who talked too much (will probably end in an article on kotaku)

And there's a huge gap between 3 and 4. Most leaks with genuine information are rare, and when they happen, they're almost certainly planned by the marketing team.

As to what punishment the leakers should get, I think that the answer is "none". If that employee had this information in the first place, it's your job to make sure it doesn't go out. If it leaks, you obviously failed somewhere.