The Indonesian Game Rating System (IGRS) has accidentally done what no spoiler-hungry fan could manage on their own: exposed over an hour of unreleased footage from 007 First Light, the upcoming James Bond origin story game, along with story details from several other titles still weeks or months from launch.
This article contains no story spoilers. Read on safely.
How a ratings database became a spoiler machine
The IGRS database had a configuration issue that allowed outside access to game footage submitted by developers purely for age classification purposes. That footage was never intended to be seen publicly. The result: more than 60 minutes of First Light footage surfaced, apparently including what looks like the game's ending.
Here's the thing: this wasn't a hack or a deliberate leak from inside a studio. Developers routinely submit footage to ratings boards around the world as part of the standard classification process. The assumption, a reasonable one, is that this material stays locked away. The IGRS system apparently did not hold up that end of the deal.
What got exposed and for which games
First Light took the biggest hit, given the sheer volume of footage that became accessible. The game releases on May 27 (the Nintendo Switch 2 version has already been delayed), so spoilers circulating six weeks out is genuinely damaging for a story-driven title.
Bandai Namco's Echoes of Aincrad, scheduled for July, also had story footage included in the leak. Beyond those two, the leak reportedly covered Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag remaster and Konami's Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, though those titles only had metadata exposed rather than actual footage.
The leak also surfaced thousands of developer email addresses, which is a separate and more persistent problem than story spoilers.
A Riot Games employee explains what likely went wrong
Nic McConnell, age ratings manager at Riot Games, addressed the situation directly on Bluesky. He explained that the IGRS asks developers to submit footage via a private Google Drive link for ratings review. McConnell wrote, "It wouldn't blow my mind if some links got opened more broadly somehow," suggesting the exposure may have come from those private links becoming accessible beyond their intended recipients.
McConnell described the IGRS system as "very much a work in progress" and advised developers to "only share the most relevant submission materials" going forward. He also noted that the team behind the IGRS appears to be small and under-resourced: "My sense is it's a small group of good folks doing their best."
That context matters. This doesn't read like negligence from a well-funded institution. It reads like a small team running infrastructure that wasn't ready for the volume or sensitivity of what it was being asked to handle.
What this means for 007 First Light specifically
First Light is already a high-profile release. The game tells the origin story of James Bond, showing how he earned the 007 designation, with actor Patrick Gibson in the lead role. A full supporting cast of recognizable names is attached, and the May 27 launch date puts it squarely in the middle of a packed release window.
Having what appears to be ending footage floating around online is the kind of thing that can genuinely diminish the experience for players who encounter it before launch. The key here is that spoiler avoidance now requires active effort from anyone who cares about going in blind.
For the other affected titles, the situation is worth monitoring. Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag's remaster and Castlevania: Belmont's Curse didn't have footage exposed, but the fact that their submissions were visible at all raises questions about what else might have been accessible.
For the latest gaming news and browse more guides to prepare for upcoming releases, the next few weeks before First Light's launch will be worth watching closely. Ratings board processes across multiple regions may face renewed scrutiny after this, and developers will likely rethink exactly what footage they submit and how they share it. McConnell's public advice is already a signal that the industry is paying attention. Check out the latest reviews to stay across everything else landing this season.
