Fake leaks/rumors/hoaxes

Leaking games, spreading rumors, and hoaxes have been an issue throughout the years, but however, some people have been posting leaks/rumors/hoaxes that look real or claim that are real, but they turn out to be what they actually are fake. This is most common around April Fools' Day for obvious reasons, but sometimes they are just done for kicks or lulz by trolls.

Examples

 * 1) Rayman was leaked as a New DLC Character for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in 14th February 2015. However, the next day it turned out to be fake, and the creator shows a video how it was made. This made a lot of people upset that Rayman didn't make it in.
 * 2) Metroid Prime 4 was one of the most rumored games at E3. Someone posted a image of a guy holding a Wii U, which says Metroid Prime 4, during 2012. Eventually, Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 for real at E3 2017. Unfortunately in 2019, the game got delayed.
 * 3) After Crash: Mind over Mutant, the Crash Bandicoot series went on a hiatus for a long time until his appearance in Skylanders: Imaginators in 2016, as well as the remasters with Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. During that time, there were various rumors of Crash returning.
 * 4) Half-Life 3 (also Half-Life 2: Episode 3) eventually became a huge internet meme. People have been posting fake images of rumors & leaks of Half-Life 3 throughout the years.
 * 5) In January 2018, some user uploaded a video of Nintendo Switch's Version 5.0.0 update. The video shows that said update will have YouTube, Hulu, Twitch, Crunchyroll, an internet browser, cloud saves, a theme shop and Virtual Console. Everyone was losing their minds and was hyped for it, but on January 7th, 2018, the update turned out to be fake, and it angered almost everybody. Ironically, the 5.0.0 update came out on 13th March 2018, but it has absolutely nothing from the fake version, which made some people angrier. However, cloud saves have been confirmed by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch Online.
 * 6) Grand Theft Auto VI, which prior to 2022 wasn't announced by Rockstar yet, was constantly rumored on the internet at least since 2016, with many people saying that they got the game sent to them by Rockstar. The most infamous of these people has to be the now-defunct Sernando, who constantly clickbaited with fake GTA VI unboxing videos. James Hudgins, better known as MrBossFTW, is even worse than Sernando, as he is always cranking out YouTube videos (at least four a day) containing lies about GTA VI to this day. As if that's not enough, gaming news sites and outlets also attempt to cash in on this topic (which also serve as "sources" for MrBossFTW).
 * 7) Sega fanboys constantly spread false rumors about Sega supposedly working on a new console. Every time Sega says they'll make a big announcement, those fanboys immediately assume it'll be a new console and will ignore all the evidence debunking their rumors. Many of them make videos and write articles claiming that "Sega will be coming back", which then leads to other people thinking it's true. They also make lots of Change.org petitions asking for Sega to make a new console. In fact, change.org doesn't change anything.
 * 8) Before the Nintendo Switch was revealed to the public on October 20th, 2016, many people were making fake NX consoles such as Nintendo Cross & Nintendo XDS.
 * 9) In September 2017, several online stores had an upcoming game called "Bayonetta+Vanquish 2-Pak" for PS4 and Xbox One. However, after a few months the item was delisted and later confirmed fake. This was believed to be an response to the Bayonetta and Vanquish for PC port, believing that the PS4 and Xbox One would also get the same treatment. However, the leak apparently aged well as SEGA eventually announced both on December 2019, and then released them two months later.
 * 10) After a full Pokémon game was announced for the Nintendo Switch at E3 2017 (Now known as Pokémon Sword and Shield), leak images of starter Pokémon were found in 2018. It was later proven that they were fake. The Official Generation VIII starters were revealed in 2019 as Grookey, Scorbunny & Sobble.
 * 11) Ever since Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, there has been countless evidence and teasing over a Spyro the Dragon remaster trilogy similar to N. Sane Trilogy. However that has also led to many fake announcements that always seem convincing due to all the evidence pointing towards the eventual real remaster. Activision kept teasing up until they released the first official trailer for the game, under the name Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
 * 12) Sonic Adventure 3 was a massive rumor in the Sonic franchise. People posting fake images, videos, and gameplay. This rumor appeared from 2006 to 2017. Fans would hope Sonic Adventure 3 will happen until September 19th. It was confirmed that Sonic Team revealed that "There is no plan for Adventure 3". This made a broken base in the fandom. (Ironically, Adventure 2 was gonna be the grand finale of the series.)
 * 13) Just after Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was revealed at E3 2018, alot of rumors and "leaks" started to pop out. The most talked about is Vergeben, who predictably corrected every single information about the game, except for the Square Enix character (which is claimed to be from Dragon Quest). The most infamous rumor of SSBU was the Banner Hoax (known as the Grinch Leak). The rumored Dragon Quest character was eventually revealed under the name Hero during the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct. Many leaks have also appear with many lists of future DLC characters
 * 14) Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite – Uncanny Edition was leaked by an anonymous 4Chan user, stating that this version will have X-Men characters that where absent from the original due to Disney's bias against 20th Century Fox over the movie rights at the time, more Capcom characters like Asura, Jill Valentine and Gene from God Hand, and the main kicker is that Capcom will have 75% total control on the rerelease, which was not the case for the original. The game was planned to be announced during the August EVO 2018 event after the SFV Grand Finals, but alas, it never came out. Many people pointed out that this statement is almost a repeat of a similar rumor back in 2012 of a supposed Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Uncanny Edition. This, combined with the lackluster sales of the original, the rumor is confirmed to be fake.
 * 15) Banjo-Threeie was a rumor that was just caught on after the "Xbox Live to the Switch" news, this rumor claims that Banjo-Threeie will come to the Switch.
 * 16) In July 2020, there was a rumor that Microsoft would finally get rid of Xbox Live Gold and make online multiplayer free, despite having created a tradition for console manufacturers to charge for online on their systems, when the Xbox Series X and S arrive after they removed the 12-month subscription plan for Gold, leaving only the 1-month plan and 3-month plan intact, as well as announcing that the online for Halo Infinite will be free. However, one month later, Microsoft debunked that rumor by stating that "Gold is an important part of the company and will continue to be so in the future", and because of that statement, the online multiplayer on the Xbox Series X and S still require Gold. The rumor resurfaced again in July 2021, claiming that Gold will be discontinued once Game Pass reaches a certain milestone. Microsoft has yet to either debunk it (again) or confirm it to be true.
 * 17) NatDexers made many speculations about Pokémon Sword and Shield, such as one claiming that the games were originally meant to be on the 3DS and the infamous claim that Game Freak purposefully cut Pokémon just to sell them back.
 * 18) When review copies of the Microsoft Xbox Series X were being sent out, there was a rumor spreading that the console was overheating and shutting itself off. However, multiple reviewers and news sites debunked this, saying that while the console does get hot, there have been no reports of it overheating and shutting down. Even Aaron Greenberg (who is part of the marketing team for Xbox) reported that the Series X was emitting the same amount of heat as the One X.
 * 19) Speaking of the Series X, when the console launched on November 10, 2020; videos showing smoke blowing out of the top of the console with it turned off quickly circulated, giving the illusion that the Xbox Series X was catching fire. However, it was quickly proven that it was just someone blowing vape smoke into the bottom vent of the console, which resulted in the fan from the top picking up the vape smoke and blowing it out the top.
 * 20) In November 2017, a rumor about EA firing Plants vs. Zombies creator George Fan for opposing pay-to-win mechanics started over the weekend on a podcast called Roundtable Live, where Binding of Isaac director Edmund McMillen told a story about one of his friends, George Fan. George Fan responded to the rumor on Twitter, stating that he had been laid off as well as against freemium model tweet but did not link the two events, which many people missed out. However, this caused many saw this as confirmation of McMillen’s story, thus leading many people to believe that he was fired by EA for opposing microtransactions. However, an article by Jason Schreier interviewed with three former PopCap employees revealed that George Fan was not fired by EA for opposing microtransactions. Allen Murray, the former producer of Plants vs. Zombies 2 stated that Fan was part of unfortunate layoffs in August 2012 due to the closure of a PopCap studio and also revealed that Fan never worked on Plants vs. Zombies 2 aside from a conceptual level and was working on a different project.
 * 21) Some Pokemon fans have revealed the three starter Pokemon for Violet and Scarlet. However, three final designs showed up at the February 2022 Nintendo Direct.
 * 22) On June 7th, 2022, Phil Spencer randomly made a comment out of nowhere of him completely beating Banjo-Kazooie, which led a lot of fans into thinking that a new game in the franchise was being teased, and a news site known as videogamechronicles.com had begun to spread rumors of a "Banjo-Kazooie revival" would finally be announced at the then-upcoming Xbox Showcase which would be featured on June 12th, 2022. However, that showcase came and went, and there was nothing related to Banjo-Kazooie that was announced at the show. An Xbox Extended Showcase was also shown two days later, and there was still no news about a new Banjo game being made, debunking the rumor by videogameschronicle in the process.

Why They Suck

 * 1) They instantly troll a lot of gullible people to thinking it's real.
 * 2) They’re everywhere on the internet, making it difficult to avoid them.
 * 3) The people making these fake leaks/rumors/hoaxes never back up their claims or show that the leaks or rumors are real.
 * 4) Due to the Super Smash Bros. fanbase being toxic, they spread Smash Ultimate Leaks like wildfire. LaxChris & WiiUGamer12 for example, kept making videos related to Smash leaks. Even Mariotehplumber of all people jumped on the bandwagon too. Many of the leaks themselves also made no sense because they included non-video game characters like Shrek.