Hackers hit Pokémon developer Game Freak, expose troves of sensitive data

Game Freak confirmed yesterday that it has been the victim of a large scale hack, in which 1TB of company data has been exposed. Releasing a statement on its website, the Pokémon developer reveals that the breach took place in August 2024, and that the data of over 2600 current and former employees had been accessed by a third party.

"Game Freak discovered that personal information of employees and others was leaked in connection with unauthorized access to our server by a third party," the statement read, translated via Nintendo Everything.

In the same statement Game Freak says that it has already strengthened its cyber security following the breach.

As well as the details of employees and contract workers appearing in the leak, a code name for a Switch successor, source codes for various Pokémon games, references to unannounced titles and even unseen design documents are reportedly amongst the information in the leak.

Gotta catch 'em all

Game Freak says that it is currently reaching out to former and current workers affected by the hack, saying via a translation by VGC: "Those who cannot be contacted individually due to retirement or other reasons will be notified in this announcement, and a contact person will be set up to respond to inquiries regarding this matter."

"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern this may have caused to all concerned."

There is still no information on the perpetrators of the attack. The news comes just weeks after the announcement that The Pokémon Company is bringing a lawsuit against Palworld creators, Pocketpair, putting more public pressure on developers caught in the middle of hackers and corporations alike.