As Nintendo Direct Rumor Mill Builds, Former Staff Discuss the Actual 'Nintendo Ninjas' Whose Job it Was to Investigate Leaks

Video crippled improvement is simply a secretive business, and fewer video crippled makers are arsenic secretive arsenic Nintendo. But what happens erstwhile accusation astir an upcoming crippled leaks online, and a Nintendo worker is suspected of being responsible? Well, that's erstwhile the 'Nintendo ninjas' get involved, a brace of erstwhile unit person said.

Speaking connected their Kit and Krysta podcast successful beforehand of tomorrow's large Nintendo Direct, ex-Nintendo of America employees Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang person discussed however accusation mightiness find its mode online — and what the Mario shaper does down the scenes to bounds leaks arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

"They truly bash tally a beauteous choky vessel connected the first-party," said Yang. "Like, you virtually [were given] the fearfulness of God and being fired from your job. That fearfulness was truly existent astatine Nintendo. We gag astir astir the 'Nintendo ninjas', similar this is existent employees astatine the company. That is their occupation to analyse leaks. They're a squad astatine Nintendo that gets paid to bash this and they are precise elite. They're precise bully astatine their jobs.... They're precise precise astir the accusation they request to lick the case."

Nintendo's infamous secrecy extends to those moving wrong its halls, with teams kept tiny to support accusation among a tight-knit radical of radical — meaning less imaginable leak sources, and an easier occupation for the ninjas to find the culprit should thing leak that lone a mates of radical cognize about.

"People [at Nintendo] are frightened consecutive astir the leaks," Ellis said. "They are existent believers, they enactment connected these things successful tiny capable numbers, tiny capable teams. That was thing that we could aways see, erstwhile it got much and much confidential, there's less and less radical moving connected it, to the constituent wherever you astir wonderment 'how are we going to get thing done?' But they person to, and that's their load to carry."

"It is simply a precise hard process to get 'disclosed' connected accusation that you deliberation you whitethorn request to bash your job," Yang agreed. "But the higher-ups successful Nintendo were ever precise cautious astir who is really getting that information, to the detriment, a batch of the time, of the radical moving connected something, due to the fact that they'd person to enactment 4 times arsenic hard."

Still, leaks from wrong Nintendo person occured successful the past from immoderate employees who person gone "rogue" Yang said, arsenic they believed that seeding accusation online up of clip would really beryllium adjuvant to the company.

"There are a tiny percent of radical wrong Nintendo who whitethorn person the mentality... of well, 'if I leak something, oregon stock thing with idiosyncratic extracurricular of the company, I'm really doing the institution a favor,'" Yang recalled. "'I'm really helping. I'm creating hype. I'm selling the game.'"

"Over the years, we did spot immoderate cases of that," Ellis confirmed. "Those radical were dealt with, swiftly," helium added, making a slicing question crossed his neck.

When it comes to hardware leaks which impact carnal manufacturing, Nintendo is successful the aforesaid vessel arsenic different exertion companies wherever keeping upcoming products confidential becomes highly difficult. Indeed, this is thing Nintendo itself experienced astatine the commencement of 2025 erstwhile it announced Switch 2 to a satellite which already had a beauteous bully thought of what the console would look like, acknowledgment to leaked manufacturing samples being photographed — and adjacent utilized by peripheral makers successful their selling (only to beryllium successfully sued by Nintendo later).

Advance cognition of Nintendo Direct broadcasts, meanwhile, tin leak from third-party companies which person their ain games included.

"I'll accidental nobody's inducement [to support secrets] is ever going to beryllium arsenic beardown arsenic a Nintendo employee," Ellis said. "Nobody's ever going to person that overmuch unit enactment upon them. That fearfulness — literal fearfulness — of God enactment upon them."

That said, immoderate Nintendo departments were believed to seemingly beryllium much leaky than others.

"We would joke, like, 'oh well, you know, erstwhile this happening gets to Europe, that thing's going to leak," helium added. "We were precise alert of the leak information zones. And like, 'on this date, this accusation is going to beryllium shared here, truthful the hazard is going to escalate.'"

As for tomorrow's Nintendo Direct, rumors are of people already flying — though thing important from Nintendo's ain line-up appears to person made its mode online... yet.

"We each cognize what happened to Pyoro," Ellis said, referencing a erstwhile prolific Nintendo leaker who ended up vanishing from the internet. "Yes, this tin beryllium an breathtaking thing, similar ohio my gosh, everybody's connected pins and needles for my adjacent update... until you get that telephone telephone oregon idiosyncratic shows up astatine your doorway and you disappear."

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social