WotC may have sent the Pinkertons to a magic leakers home. Update: WotC confirms it and has a response.

[trappedslider]

In none of those past instances did WotC/Hasbro pay a notorious group of thugs to go bully/threaten somebody who leaked product, to my knowledge.

So, which private investigation company would you hire as a multinational company to investigate a leak issue?

Let me guess : you wouldn't have?

I'm not sure which folks are more upset that wotc did this or that they hired the only big name company that deals with issues like this? or is it 50-50?

 

[trappedslider]

My Takeaway: Huh. Pinkertons exist outside of Westerns. Who knew?

My take away: Nothing really new about how WotC treats leaks, other than the having an outside company look into it.
Others take away: More proof wotc is a bad company.

 

[jdrakeh]

So, which private investigation company would you hire as a multinational company to investigate a leak issue?

Let me guess : you wouldn't have?

Wrong. I would have, but not one of the two most hated private security companies on planet earth with a well deserved reputation for being paid thugs. There are many better options out there.

I'm not sure which folks are more upset that wotc did this or that they hired the only big name company that deals with issues like this? or is it 50-50?

You clearly have no idea what you're talking about. There are many other private security and investigation firms who handle such matters with care and discretion.

 

[Undrave]

This was a stunningly stupid way to do it and it predictably blew up in WotC's collective face (again).

But since you asked: You start with creating a list of who had access to the cards, figuring out where this particular batch came from and at what point it could have left the building. All of which could be done in-house (with or without thugs) and which would actually address the disease, not the symptoms.

Yup! You do some ACTUAL INVESTIGATING before you try to strong arm a rando who's barely involved. Sheesh.

 

[Umbran]

Yup! You do some ACTUAL INVESTIGATING before you try to strong arm a rando who's barely involved. Sheesh.

My understanding is that WotC was reacting to Youtube videos posted under a pseudonym. So it isn't like WotC could Google up the phone number to have a discussion. Getting a home address from that sounds like "actual investigation".

And they didn't strong arm a rando. They strong-armed the one person confirmed to have the leaked product. You think they should not follow that very clear lead?

To trace this leak probably does call for recovering the product, and tracing it back through the physical product chain by tracking numbers on the packaging. I expect showing up in-person was to make it less likely the product would just disappear, and never be recovered.

Now, their comportment when they get there is possibly a legitimate point of criticism. At the start of that conversation, they don't know for sure how they got the product - outright theft is still an option, and someone clumsy might raise the fact that they might be in possession of stolen goods...

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

Yeah, I'm having a hard time picturing what actual harm had been done, from a legal standpoint. "We didn't like it" isn't anything that would impress a judge.

A lot of companies put a lot of money into marketing their products. It's not a far stretch to think WoTC probably put some cash into marketing this game/cards/whatever. Some YouTuber leaking these cards would probably defeat the purpose of spending money on marketing. I'm willing to bet all the money in your pocket, to all the money is that other guy's pocket that WoTC probably won't be able to get a refund on the money they spent from the vendors that provided various marketing services.

That being said, the incident doesn't appear to be such a violent occurrence. Some guys showed up and told the YouTuber to turn over the cards. They collected the card and the foil wrapping. They counted the cards. They gave him a number to call. I don't see where they punch his dog and kicked his wife and insulted his cat.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

In none of those past instances did WotC/Hasbro pay a notorious group of thugs to go bully/threaten somebody who leaked product, to my knowledge.

Maybe I missed it in the article, or maybe its in some article I haven't read, but what bullying/harassment occurred?

 

[darjr]

 

[darjr]

 

[Ondath]

Leaks like this from the MTG side of WotC which some of you may know a little about RARELY happen on this scale and with this amount of product. Using an outside agency to look into stuff like HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.

The only reason this got any traction is because 1. It was a content creator and 2. It was WotC.

And you all because the way WotC treats the D&D community automatically think bad. Call it hyperbole but I honestly think some of you would believe it or wouldn't give them the benefit of the doubt if someone told you WotC kicks puppies and kitten.

WotC has taken steps similar in nature to pervious MTG leaks like this. Spoiler

Time Spiral​

In December 2005, Daron Rutter, under the name "rancored_elf", posted an image of three Time Spiral playtest cards on MTG Salvation, nine months before that set was released. This leak led to legal action against Rutter and ten John Doe defendants, which was settled out of court.

On April 20, 2011, the entirety of New Phyrexia was leaked when unauthorized players gained access to the set's "God Book". The "God Book", an item containing each card in the set, had been provided to Pro Tour player and journalist Guillaume Matignon for his use in writing for Lotus Noir. Matignon shared it with Guillaume Wafo-Tapa, after which it became available to the wider internet. Wizards then accelerated their normal preview schedule, providing official previews for the set over the course of a single week. Ultimately, four players, including both Matignon and Wafo-Tapa, received DCI suspensions for their part in the leaks, though Matignon's was later shortened.

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate​

On April 15, 2022, eight weeks before the release of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, someone opened five stolen Collector Boosters on TikTok. Multiple cards and mechanics were revealed. After being threatened with legal action, he created other accounts on TikTok and revealed even more cards.

The examples you give are very interesting, but do note they either contain (1) legal action through channels that don't involve detective agencies or (2) a hastening of the preview process by WotC to compensate for the leaks.

So by your own examples, sending a detective agency to somebody's door is quite unusual.

And no, I don't have a grudge on WotC. I've been praising the D&D movie to everyone I know and urging them to go watch it in the hopes that it might improve the chances of a sequel. I'm absolutely looking forward to the Planescape book. Hell, I reinstalled MtG Arena on March and stopped playing only because my studies require me to take a break. My past posts about the OGL debacle are there, as are my posts praising WotC when they took the right step.

What I will not do is making excuses for a billion-dollar company when they do something out of a cartoon villain textbook.