Game Freak, the main developer of the Pokémon games, has suffered a serious data breach. Personal details of the staff have been posted online, as well as a wealth of documentation about Pokémon, including the source code for full releases of previous games.
in statementGame Freak said the leak was the result of “unauthorized access to our servers by a third party,” and apologized for publishing more than 2,600 items of personal data. It said the breach occurred in August 2024 and that the affected server had already been rebuilt.
Information gleaned from the leaked files began to appear widely on Saturday and Sunday, and a Game Freak statement appeared online on Sunday. However, the statement is dated Thursday, October 10. The statement addresses the leak of employees’ personal details, but does not mention the disclosure of any confidential game data.
“Strange game […] “I discovered that the personal information of our employees and others had been leaked in connection with unauthorized access to our servers by a third party in August 2024,” the studio’s statement said (via machine translation). “We sincerely apologize for the significant inconvenience and concern this has caused to everyone involved.”
Game Freak said it was reaching out to affected employees individually. “We have already rebuilt and re-scanned the server, and we will strive to prevent this from happening again by strengthening our security measures,” she added.
Polygon has contacted The Pokémon Company for comment. Game Freak is one of three stakeholders in Pokémon, along with Nintendo and Creatures Inc., the developer of Pokémon Pokemon trading card game.
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