Steven Bomb was leaked intentionally, Cartoon Network sources say

Avid fans of the animated series Steven Universe may have thought they hit the jackpot when fresh episodes from Season 4 reportedly leaked online before its scheduled air date on January 30.

However, it seems that the leak wasn't a leak after all but rather an intentional move on the part of Cartoon Network to build awareness for the upcoming season, reported Polygon.

It can be recalled that the leak, dubbed by the fandom as Steven Bomb went up last January 2 on Cartoon Network's mobile app for Android and iOS which led the fans to think that it was an accidental release due to its irregular hours and number of episodes.

Cartoon Network execs quickly clarified the issue and said the release was not an accident but actually a part of their "See it First" feature.

"This is actually something we've been doing for some time with a few of our shows through what we call the 'See It First' element of the [Cartoon Network] App. It helps us build awareness for upcoming episodes and for new show launches before they go on the linear platform. For example, we did this last September with our new series Mighty Magiswords, and in December, we sneaked Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs and My Knight and Me," the source explained.

The fans' delight were quickly replaced with disappointment when the network took down four of the episodes the following day and left only the first episode entitled "Steven's Dream", which fans were quick to rip and spread online.

Despite the network's assurance that there was no mistaken uploads, fans of the show were still confused because of conflicting statements from members of the team who worked on the episodes.

"If you saw the new [Steven Universe] episodes that were mistakenly posted online, I hope you enjoyed them. It was a very fun arc to work on," said Matt Burnett in a tweet.

Aivi Tran, who worked on music for the show, meanwhile criticized those who were enjoying her work illegally, initially unaware that the leaks came from the CN app. She quickly tweeted that if viewers saw her work on the site, she had no problems with them but issues stem if the material was sourced illegally.