Game Freak Confirms Massive Pokémon Leak

Game Freak, the Pokémon game developer, confirmed they had been hacked and that private information was leaked this weekend.

According to the BBC, the company had been developing Nintendo’s games since 1996 and its servers were attacked earlier this year, in August. The data stolen includes historical content accumulated over the years.

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused to all involved,” said Game Freak in a recent public statement, confirming that 2,606 items had been leaked. The company explained that private information like emails, names, and addresses of current and former employees were disclosed and that they would individually contact those affected.

Game Freak didn’t provide many details on the information exposed, nor confirmed or denied any of the thousands of posts and “secrets” revealed on social media channels like X, and other platforms like Reddit and Discord.

According to PCGamer, the leak revealed “never-before-seen Pokémon art, design documents, and other development material on social media.” However, people have reported fake information has also been shared by disseminators leading to difficulties in differentiating what is real and what is not.

“For all of those just tuning in, we’re currently covering the Game Freak Teraleak,” posted the account Centro LEAKS on X, after sharing multiple posts with leaked data, “Lots of source files and beta content for past Pokémon games are currently leaking, along with a few details on upcoming projects. We expect more information to be uncovered in the coming hours and days.”

Many Pokémon fans have been enjoying the content leaked, and others have also expressed concern about the sensitive information from developers and Game Freak workers revealed.

Nintendo officially opened its museum a few days ago, on October 2.