In the loot shooter Borderlands 3 there is unrest in the community a month before the release. YouTuber SupMatto made allegations that the publisher 2k had sent detectives to his home – following which others called for a boycott of Borderlands 3. 2k now confirms that detectives were sent. But the situation is different from how the YouTuber presents it.
This is the situation: About a week ago, a test stream went live, showing 4 hours of gameplay from Borderlands 3. A YouTuber reported on this “secret” stream. That YouTuber was Matt “SupMatto” Somers (featured image). He has been uploading videos about the Borderlands series on his channel since 2015.
As a result, the publisher of Borderlands 3, Take-Two, reportedly issued seven copyright strikes against SupMatto on YouTube and sent him two “Private Investigators,” as the YouTuber described in a video.
In the community, some expressed solidarity with the YouTuber and the hashtag #BoycottBorderlands3 trended for four hours on Twitter in the USA. One reason for this boycott call was that it should not be allowed for a company to intimidate a YouTuber like this.
2k says: We have been investigating SupMatto for 10 months
This is what Take-Two says now: A spokesperson for 2k says in a statement to IGN: “Take Two and 2k take the security and confidentiality of our trade secrets very seriously. The action we took this week was the result of a 10-month investigation.”
It is further stated that this “content creator,” meaning SupMatto, had long benefited from violating Take-Two’s policies and leaking confidential information about their products. He had violated 2k’s copyright.
This is what the YouTuber says: The YouTuber represented in the video that the official Borderlands YouTube channel had posted a hint about the test channel on YouTube on April 29 itself. This test channel for the stream of Borderlands 3 was not found by him, but was generally known.
YouTuber apparently knew too much
This is what the YouTuber allegedly did according to 2k: According to 2k, the YouTuber misrepresents the situation. He supposedly exploited a vulnerability in Twitch’s security system. The Twitch stream for Borderlands 3 was private, not public, as SupMatto states.
SupMatto reportedly published videos in 2018 that contained accurate information about characters and mechanics in Borderlands 3 that were not yet official:
- such as details about the 4 Vault Hunters
- the “Radiation” element
- and the development of a DLC for Borderlands 2
The corresponding videos on SupMatto’s channel have since been deleted.
The YouTuber is also said to have operated a Discord channel where he published further leaked information about Borderlands 3. Players gained access to this channel if they purchased a $5 membership for SupMatto’s YouTube channel.
Take-Two views the action against the YouTuber as part of their efforts to close leaks and maintain the confidentiality of trade secrets. They want to prevent such leaks from having a negative impact on fans and customers.
What happens next? IGN also states that Discord and Twitch are likely investigating the respective account of SupMatto. SupMatto’s Discord channel was allegedly locked 20 minutes after the visit of the private detectives due to “the sale, promotion, or distribution of hacks, cheats, or cracked accounts.”
2k and Take-Two do not seemingly want to take further action against the leaker.
SupMatto himself has deleted his Twitter account and announced a break from YouTube.
He will then see in September whether he will even play Borderlands 3. At the moment he is out. He seems to have been at the source for too long and now needs to step back from Borderlands 3.
