Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 developer battling full game leak, months before launch
UPDATE: Publisher and developer respond.
UPDATE 7.14pm: Following the news a fully playable version of the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has leaked online, developer Saber Interactive and publisher Focus Interactive have released a statement imploring players to "avoid this unfinished build" and to "not spoil the game for those excited to experience it for the first time at launch".
"We are deeply touched by the overwhelming support we've received from our community following the leak of an old build of our upcoming game, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2", the companies wrote in a statement shared on social media.
"Our teams have poured years of hard work, passion, and dedication into creating a game worthy of your hopes and expectations, and it's dishearten that many of the surprises we worked to keep secret were spoiled," Focus and Saber's response continued. "We're saddened that this build, which will be almost a year old by the time we launch, is how some of our most eager fans will first experience Space Marine 2."
"Our unwavering commitment has been to deliver the best possible game for our players. This was the driving force behind our decision to spend more time on development and ensure we deliver the best experience we can."
"We're asking everyone to avoid this unfinished build and to not spoil the game for those excited to experience it for the first time at launch," the statement concluded. "Space Marine 2 will release on 9th September, and the best way to support our teams' hard work is to play the game as they've always intended. See you all in a few weeks."
ORIGINAL STORY 11.51am: Two months before its official launch date, footage from a fully-playable version of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is being uploaded to YouTube.
The videos reportedly come from a pre-release developer build of the game, which fans on reddit say is now circulating on a popular torrent website. Several of these videos have already been pulled from YouTube by Saber Interactive copyright claims, but yet more are being uploaded.
Worse, perhaps, numerous people appear to have been able to download and play the game's leaked version, which reportedly includes the full campaign in a fairly polished state.
Gameplay videos seen by Eurogamer include footage of the game's missions and hub, as well as story spoilers.
Eurogamer has contacted publisher Focus Entertainment and developer Saber Entertainment for their response to the leak and more information on how it's happened.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was once set for launch last "winter", but received a substantial delay in November last year. The game will now launch for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 9th September.
Late last month, Saber Interactive cancelled Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2's public beta test to spend more time preparing "for the full launch" in September.
"Space Marine 2 is almost ready," Saber said via an update posted to Steam. "We are now entirely focused on optimisation, polish and fixing remaining issues ahead of launch on 9th September. This means we will not run a public online beta, as it would take the development teams away from preparing for the full launch, and our priority is to ensure the best possible experience at release."