Starfield leaker arrested after allegedly stealing copies of the game

A man whose leaked Starfield gameplay went viral has been arrested for allegedly stealing and attempting to sell copies of the game online, among other charges.

As reported by Kotaku, 29-year-old Darin Harris was booked by the Shelby County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office on August 24.

He’s facing a felony charge for $2,500-$10,000 worth of stolen property, a misdemeanor charge for $1,000 or less of stolen property, and a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana.

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A few days prior to his arrest, Harris published approximately 40 minutes of Starfield gameplay footage on his YouTube channel.

While Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media did its best to contain the leak, the original video and shorter clips were widely circulated online.

Harris later tweeted a video “review” of the game, in which he referenced Starfield director Todd Howard and addressed online reactions to how he’d played it.

“I ain’t mad, I know what happens,” he said. “That game’s smooth. For all the gamers out there who want a different kind of game, that’s definitely something to get. It takes time, you have to read it, you can’t just jump into it, you’ll be jumping around like I was for a minute.

“Todd, no offence man, that’s a good game. Perfect timing, about leaving the earth and all that, it’s good stuff. Pretty swell, good moves. They were saying I play like a beginner because I’m not a game expert, I was just trying something out. That’s a good game, y’all don’t want to miss it. Starfield for real.”

It’s alleged that Harris was responsible for uploading listings for multiple copies of the game, including its $300 Constellation Edition, to the Japanese e-commerce platform Mercari. How he managed to obtain copies of the game prior to its official release is unclear.

Starfield was originally scheduled to be released last November, but in May of 2022 the game was delayed to the first half of 2023. Bethesda announced a further delay this March, with Starfield now set for release on September 6.

The publisher said last week that Starfield had gone gold. Players can preload the title on Xbox Series X/S now, and on Steam on August 30.