Spoiler Culture Through the Lens of The Last of Us Part II

Why do people spoil games and movies?

On April 27, Naughty Dog suffered one of the most catastrophic leaks in gaming history, with major parts of The Last of Us
Part II’s story and cut scenes being put on the internet for the world to see. Despite the efforts of the studio and Sony to contain the leaks, they spread quickly to all corners of the internet. The leaks amounted to roughly 90 minutes of cut scene footage and several major plot points, given without context, seemingly with the intent to injure the game’s perception among the online community. The reaction to the leaks was swift and, in most cases, stunningly negative.

Perhaps predictably, the gaming internet and social media exploded with indignation. People vowed to boycott the game, while Naughty Dog employees and the game’s voice actors reportedly received hateful and harassing message on social media. The leaker was even described as a hero in some circles, for having brought to light what many people believed was an egregious disservice to the franchise and it’s fans.

Rumors swirled about the source of the leaks, originally suggesting that the leak was perpetrated by a contractor, mad that their pay was being docked due to COVID. When this was proved inaccurate, the rumor mill…