Infamous Starfield Leaker Arrested for Trying to Sell Stolen Copies of the Game
A 29-year-old man has been arrested and charged with felony after allegedly attempting to sell stolen copies of the highly anticipated game Starfield online. The suspect, identified as Darin Harris, was processed by the Shelby County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office on August 24. He is accused of posting the first 45 minutes of Starfield online before its official release on September 1.
According to the Sheriff’s Office website, Harris faces a felony charge for stolen property valued between $2,500 and $10,000, a misdemeanor charge for stolen property worth $1,000 or less, and a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana. The incident has sparked interest from gaming enthusiasts and authorities alike.
The leak of Starfield, a highly anticipated open-world sci-fi RPG, went viral on August 22. Despite being taken down from YouTube due to copyright infringement, the grainy cellphone footage was reposted on various social media platforms. One 60-second clip on Imgur garnered over 1 million views. Viewers noticed that Harris appeared to have little knowledge of Bethesda’s RPGs or modern shooters. In response to the leak, Harris shared another video defending his gameplay.
While fans speculated on the authenticity of the leak, Harris posted listings for additional copies of the game, including the sought-after Constellation Edition, on the Japanese e-commerce platform Mercari. Some of these listings were sold for their retail price. Harris even labeled one listing as “RESERVED for Chris‼️ Starfield Xbox Series X/S Bundle.” Observers became suspicious, wondering how he had acquired so many early copies of the game.
In subsequent videos, Harris was seen going to FedEx to ship the sold copies. However, doubts grew among gamers, with many suspecting it to be a scam. Harris vehemently denied the allegations, stating, “Y’all thought I’d be out here putting stuff on the internet and it ain’t real, nah baby, that ain’t how we do it, that ain’t how we do that. Y’all used to playing with little boys.”
Around August 24, Harris began deleting all videos on his apparent YouTube channel and clearing out his social media accounts. It remains unclear if Bethesda or Microsoft, the game’s developer and owner respectively, alerted local authorities about the alleged misconduct. It is also possible that Harris faces unrelated charges unrelated to his unique social media campaign surrounding Starfield.
As of now, no upcoming hearing information is available for Harris’ case. Both Harris and representatives from Bethesda and Microsoft have not yet made any statements regarding this incident. The police investigation concerning the theft and the authenticity of the leaked copies of Starfield is still ongoing.