007 First Light's Ending Leaked by Ratings Board Blunder

Six weeks. IO Interactive was six weeks away from launching 007 First Light on May 27, and now the game's ending is circulating online because a government ratings board couldn't secure its own backend.

A security flaw in the Indonesian Game Rating System (IGRS) was discovered over the weekend, as first reported by VGC. Someone building an alternative frontend for the IGRS website stumbled upon critical vulnerabilities that left privately submitted footage exposed to the public. That footage, originally sent to the board to help classify games, included over an hour of spoiler-filled material from First Light. VGC confirmed it has verified the leaked footage, which includes what appears to be the ending of IO Interactive's Bond origin story.

First Light isn't the only game affected. Bandai Namco's Echoes of Aincrad, not due until July 10, has had entire cutscenes leak. Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake and Konami's Castlevania: Belmont's Curse were also part of the breach, though no footage from those titles appears to be circulating yet. Developers submit their most sensitive content to classification boards, scenes with violence, nudity, strong language, specifically because those sequences are what ratings decisions hinge on. That's exactly the kind of material you don't want leaking.

But the damage goes beyond spoilers. According to reports, the IGRS breach also exposed thousands of email addresses belonging to game developers, including contacts at major studios. That's a security problem that won't blow over when the games launch.

This is actually the IGRS's second embarrassment this month. Last week, Indonesian ratings started appearing on Steam with wildly incorrect classifications, including a 3+ rating for Call of Duty and an 18+ tag on Story of Seasons. IO Interactive's 007 First Light, which stars Patrick Gibson as a 26-year-old Bond earning his 00 status, was already delayed from its original March window. Anyone hoping to go in clean on May 27 should start filtering social media now.