Game Freak, the main developer of the Pokémon games, has suffered a major data breach. Personal information about employees was published online, as well as a huge trove of documentation about Pokémon, including the source code of complete versions of previous games.
IN statementGame Freak said the leak was the result of “unauthorized third-party access to our servers” and apologized for revealing more than 2,600 pieces of personal information. The breach was found to have occurred in August 2024 and the affected server has since been rebuilt.
Information obtained from the leaked files began to appear widely on Saturday and Sunday, with Game Freak’s statement appearing online on Sunday. However, the statement is dated Thursday, October 10. The statement refers to the leak of employee personal information, but does not mention the disclosure of any confidential game data.
Game Freak said it is contacting affected employees individually. “We have already rebuilt and re-checked the server and will strive to prevent such situations in the future by further strengthening our security measures,” he said.
Polygon has reached out to The Pokémon Company for comment. Game Freak is one of three Pokémon stakeholders, along with Nintendo and Creatures Inc., the game’s developer Pokémon Trading Card Game.
