YouTuber John Allen, who happens to be behind a video game industry “insider” Twitter account, has issued an apology video in which he admits to being inspired by “Klout” and “The Buzz”.
Allen achieved brief internet fame by leaking details of Ubisoft’s various Assassin’s Creed announcements – details that Ubisoft itself had given it to prepare content during the embargo.
But his identity as “TheRealInsider” was exposed over the weekend, when Allen replied to a fan’s tweet from his main account. Allen then quickly deleted the tweet, the internal account, and later issued a brief Twitter statement saying he was sorry.
Today’s lengthy apology goes into more detail in a video on Allen’s main YouTube channel. Here, he points out that other rumors he posted were just fabrications — including hints at the upcoming Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid remakes that falsely excited fans.
“I mentioned Silent Hill and [a] Metal Gear Solid is a remake, and as far as I can tell there was no NDA [Non-Disclosure Agreements] Because it’s all bullshit because there’s involvement.
“It’s all false, fabricated secondhand comments,” he continued. “Half the posts were educated guesses.”
In explaining why he leaked the details — even after signing deals with companies like Ubisoft to hear the information ahead of time — Allen admitted he did it for the “buzz” of attention.
“I’m ashamed of it,” Allen continued. “It was pathetic and just dishonest. A lot of you are getting angry and saying, ‘Well, why did you do it?’ And to be honest – it’s impact, it’s buzz, it’s being addicted to the thrill of thousands waiting for what you say.
“I took my access, my nearly 200,000 subscribers, the flexibility of the content all for granted for this faking front, and I’m ashamed, disgusted. I’ve had a sinking feeling in my stomach ever since. And I’m not making excuses, because it’s my fault and Not anybody else’s, not mine. And because of that, I’ve lost friends in the industry, I’ve lost relationships — personal, business-wise, opportunities — for those five seconds of fame. And, you know, I take full responsibility.”
So, what’s next for Allen? The YouTuber ended by saying that he would be stepping away from the limelight for now – before returning to focus on being a “positive force”.
“All I can do from here is try to be a better person to learn from this catastrophic mistake, this understandable stupidity… I’m going to take some time now, I’m just going to walk away from it and just try and learn from his mistake. Learn and come back with hope, as a positive force and not as a negative force.
“Again, I probably won’t be back on Twitter because I’m not welcome, and I shouldn’t be after what I’ve done. Maybe I will be back but at the end of the day, I’m just sad. And I can’t turn back time, but what I can do is Moving forward trying to be a better person. And I promise you it will never happen again. And I will learn from these mistakes.”
