What you need to know
- #BoycottBorderlands3 has been trending on Twitter recently.
- This hashtag began as a result of as issue with YouTuber SupMatto.
- Supmatto detailed his version of events in a video on his YouTube channel.
- 2K and Gearbox have provided a response to SupMatto's statements.
If you've been browsing Twitter today, you might have seen #BoycottBorderlands3 trending. If you clicked on said hashtag, you'd probably find many people tweeting about it, confused as to why it was trending while using the hashtag themselves, in turn making it trend even further. So just what is going on?
YouTube user SupMatto posted a video explaining his version of what has happened. A trailer for Borderlands 3 that was released back in April advertised a feature called the ECHOCast, which basically allowed people watching the reveal to earn rewards by watching streamers. Information that was discovered and posted on Reddit (not by SupMatto) allowed people to see the thumbnails of the private channels used to test this feature but not the actual content. SupMatto proceeded to use these thumbnails in some of his content. We've included SupMatto's video, which you can view below:
SupMatto then states that on July 25, 2019, two private investigators hired by Take-Two came to his house, questioning him on a variety of subjects including his streams, his channel and his content. 2K and Take-Two have not confirmed or denied this taking place but gave a statement to The Verge, saying the companies will "take the necessary actions to defend against leaks and infringement of our intellectual property that not only potentially impact our business and partners."
The representative also told The Verge that "The information he's sharing about the situation is incomplete, and in some cases untrue. Not only were many of his actions illegal, but they were negatively impacting the experiences of other content creators and our fans in anticipation for the game." Following these events, copyright claims were made on the content of SupMatto's channel using these thumbnails, while his Discord account was terminated for being "involved in selling, promoting or distributing cheats, hacks or cracked accounts."
As a result of this information becoming widespread, #boycottborderlands3 began to take off on Twitter.
Get ready for mayhem
Borderlands 3 is a return to the classic series that helped put loot-and-shoot games on the map. Developed by Gearbox, this game introduces four new Vault Hunters alongside a deadly new threat: the Children of the Vault.
