Ouch: Hackers Hit Pokémon Developer Game Freak

Pokémon developer Game Freak has confirmed one of its servers was hacked in August and some of its data was compromised.

The developer apologized for the breach in a Japanese-language statement and vowed to strengthen its security protocols. It confirmed that 2,606 employee names and email addresses were accessed and said it would reach out individually to all impacted.

Game Freak didn’t go into detail about what Pokémon franchise-related materials were affected. However, leaks that appear to come from the attack were circulated on Reddit and X.

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The leak may include prototypes for new Pokémon, source code from previous games, potential names of upcoming Pokémon titles, and the Switch 2‘s codename, according to Nintendo Life.

Nintendo has not yet commented on the leak.

Game Freak has developed most of the recent Pokémon games, including Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. (Pokémon Go was handled by a different developer, Niantic, Inc.)

Game studios are frequent targets for hackers. In December 2023, PlayStation Studio Insomniac Games had 1.6TB of data, including 1.3 million files, leaked to the public in a ransomware attack. The Spiderman developer had PowerPoint presentations, game footage, images, HR documents, and internal plans revealed on the dark web by the criminals.

In 2020, meanwhile, a Nintendo “Gigaleak” revealed multiple terabytes of data going back to the SNES and N64 era, including the assets from classics such as Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64, in addition to canceled projects, according to IGN.

About Will McCurdy

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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