Pokémon: Game Freak confirms massive data breach; franchise and thousands of employees' data leaked

This weekend, reports of an alleged hack on Game Freak, the studio behind Pokémon, surfaced. Social media and various forums were flooded with leaked information about the past and future of the franchise. There were even details related to Switch 2, Nintendo’s upcoming console, which has yet to be revealed.

After all this, Game Freak decided to release a statement, where it acknowledged that it suffered a major attack on its systems some time ago. Although it didn’t address the leaked Pokémon information, it did confirm that hackers stole data from thousands of its employees. The company offered an apology and explained what had occurred.

Pokémon studio acknowledges data breach and apologizes

Thanks to Game Freak’s statement, we know that the hack occurred in August of this year, during which a third party gained access to the studio's systems and stole information related to employees and various Pokémon projects.

Even though the attack happened several weeks ago, Game Freak only acknowledged it now, after a great deal of confidential franchise information came to light through various leaks, which include documents about creature designs, the lore of the saga, upcoming games, and new multimedia projects.

Game Freak apologized to its employees and everyone involved in the data theft. It is known that private information such as the names, email addresses, and other personal data of 2,606 current and former employees was leaked.

The studio stated that it had reached out to all of them to address their concerns and provide assistance if necessary. It also invited any affected individuals who haven’t been contacted yet to reach out to their representatives for more information.

“Game Freak Inc. has discovered that personal information of employees and others was leaked in connection with unauthorized access to our server by a third party in August 2024. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused to all involved,” reads part of the statement.

Additionally, Game Freak reported that it has already taken measures to prevent this situation from happening again. It inspected its systems and reinforced its security to avoid similar hacks. The company did not provide information about the stolen Pokémon data.

There are also no details about the attacker or the actions they will take to stop them. That being said, it is unclear how the leaks will affect future franchise events and releases.