Pokémon game developer confirms data breach that exposes employee and game data

Pokémon game developer confirms data breach that exposes employee and game data

2,600 employees affected by the Game Freak data breach, source code and game art, are also affected.

The Japanese video game developer currently responsible for the popular Pokémon video game series has confirmed that it has been the victim of a significant data breach affecting more than 2,000 current and former employees.

In addition to employee data, a large number of development documents were also part of the leak, and source code, art, and more have been shared on numerous gaming forums, most notably the popular subreddit r/PokeLeaks.

The leak – already being dubbed the ‘TeraLeak’ after a 2020 Nintendo leak known as the GigaLeak – is being hosted anonymously online, although the leaker’s motive and identity remain unknown.

“In connection with the unauthorized access by a third party to our server in August 2024, it has come to light that the personal data of our employees, etc., has been leaked,” said a message from the company released on October 10 and translated by Google Translate, said

“We apologize for the inconvenience and concern this has caused to everyone involved.”

The leaked employee information includes personal data containing the names and email addresses of 2,606 current and former employees in both full-time and contract positions. According to the report, Game Freak has begun contacting those affected.

“We have already rebuilt and inspected the server,” said Game Freak.

“We will strive to prevent this from happening again by further strengthening our safety measures.”

As difficult as the leak must be for Game Freak and its associates, fans of the developer’s games are having a great day sifting through the data, which dates back to games made 25 years ago, along with game titles still waiting for release. have not seen. daylight.

“It’s so interesting that Kecleon, Wailmer, and Azurill finished very early,” said a member of r/PokeLeaks.

“They are the first three Gen III Pokémon I remember around 2001/2 on very early serebii and other Pokémon forums, when I was eight years old.”

Others, however, find their joy in the new art and information is tempered by the personal impact on Game Freak’s employees.

“I really hope that most of the personal information remains largely unseen, it just feels annoying to see stuff like that when I just want to see cool development information,” said another.

“I remember during the 2020 Gigaleak, personal developer emails were included with Starfox 2 beta items, and that wasn’t okay either.”

David Hollingworth

David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over twenty years and has worked for a range of print and online titles during his career. He enjoys learning about cybersecurity, especially if it means he can talk about Lego.