Streamer Dan Allen, who was revealed yesterday as the person behind “The Real Insider” (opens in a new tab) Twitter account that leaked (among other things) Ubisoft’s big Assassin’s Creed presentation (opens in a new tab)has apologized for his actions in a new video posted on YouTube, saying he was doing it all for impact and “buzz.”
“I’m ashamed of it. It was pathetic, and just dishonest,” Allen said in the video. “Many of you when [out] and said, ‘Why the hell did you do that?’ To be honest, it’s clout, it’s buzz, it’s being addicted to the excitement of thousands waiting to hear what you’re going to say.”
When he wasn’t posting leaks, Allen ran the Dan Allen Gaming channel on YouTube, which has a wide variety of gaming content including guides, walkthroughs, and interviews, and currently has nearly 200,000 subscribers. His regular streaming job might not provide the instant rush he felt while revealing big secrets in front of everyone else in the world, but on the other hand, he’s also far less likely to get sued as a result.
Speaking of which, Allen claimed in his apology that many of his leaks, such as those involving Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid, did not violate NDAs because they were largely made up.
“Bullshit. Secondhand comments. Half the posts were educated guesses,” Allen said. “For example, I posted a picture of Kratos just before [Sony] Status of game. It was an educated guess because of that [Kratos voice actor] Christopher Judge had retweeted State of Play so I figured it would be there. It was.”
Allen may be looking to downplay the NDA violations involved in the leaks because of the potential ramifications that could arise from them. Public shaming is no fun, but neither is being dragged to court for breaking legally binding contracts. And Ubisoft NDAs are no joke. As an example, part of a May 2022 Rainbow Six Siege NDA received by PC Gamer states the following:
“The parties acknowledge that any breach [of confidentiality] by a party, its affiliates and representatives of the obligations hereunder may cause irreparable harm for which no award of monetary damages may be an adequate remedy. Accordingly, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that either party may have, each party may be entitled to seek injunctive, specific performance and other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the provisions of this Agreement.”
Seeking “injunctive, specific performance and other equitable relief” essentially means that Ubisoft has the right to sue you if you breach the terms of the contract. That doesn’t mean it will, and in the event of, say, a technical glitch or something else beyond the control of the people involved, I like to think their lawyers will give it bad luck and let it slide. But things can go differently in a case where someone signed the paper and then immediately and purposefully spewed everything they promised to keep secret all over the internet.
Alongside his potential legal troubles, Allen said he has lost personal and business friendships in the gaming industry due to his secret gaming life, and had to delete his personal Twitter account due to the “flood of hate” he has received since being exposed. Still, he said the backlash is justified and that he is not seeking sympathy or forgiveness.
After apologizing to content creators, journalists, PR representatives and his followers for his “incomprehensible stupidity,” Allen said he’s going to take some time off to get away and “try to learn from this mistake.”
“At the end of the day, I’m just sad,” Allen said. “I can’t turn back time, but what I can do is try to be a better man going forward and promise you this will never happen again.”
No one has sued Allen at this point, at least that we know of. If he avoids trouble beyond feelings of remorse, it could be the last time an exposed toy gets an apology from the industry. Ubisoft doesn’t usually have an obvious target after a major leak, at least not that we know of, and certainly not one that has publicly confessed. Meanwhile, some game publishers have recently become bolder in pitting lawyers against individuals. Bungie has gone after Destiny 2 cheaters (opens in a new tab) and users with the tracks, and last year a teenage Fortnite player settled with Epic (opens in a new tab) over alleged cheating. Cheating and NDA violations are different things, but with the recent GTA 6 hack and what feels like an overall increase in leaks, major studios may be thinking more and more about protecting information, and more likely to look to the courts as a deterrent.
Ubisoft declined to comment specifically on the Dan Allen leaks, but said in a statement sent to PC Gamer that they are treating the situation “seriously.”
“We regularly provide access and information about our games under NDA to trusted partners,” said a Ubisoft representative. “When that trust is compromised, or information is leaked by an individual, it’s not only damaging and demoralizing for our teams, but it takes away from an exciting moment and experience for our players. While we don’t want to talk about an individual case, we take these matters seriously and will deal accordingly.”
