Game Freak confirms massive data leak involving more than 2,600 employees and contractors

Pokémon developer Game Freak has revealed that it suffered a data breach that resulted in the personal information of thousands of employees and contractors being breached.

In an opinion (PDF) released on October 10, 2024, Game Freak revealed that an unauthorized party accessed its servers in August 2024 and accessed the personal information of employees and contractors. This breach resulted in the personal data of at least 2,600 current and former workers being stolen and leaked, including their names and company email addresses, among other data.

The company says it will contact employees individually and those who cannot be contacted can contact a hotline set up to handle inquiries. It also states that the affected servers have been inspected and rebuilt and that additional security measures will be implemented to prevent this from happening in the future.

The news comes amid an alleged Game Freak information leak, including developer resources, beta details, and more. Vast swathes of apparently leaked data have been posted online on social media sites and forums. Neither Game Freak nor Nintendo have commented on the apparent leaks, and at this point, their reality has not been confirmed.

Game Freak is best known for its development of the main series Pokémon games, having acted as the lead developer for all titles in the series except Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which were developed by ILCA under overseeing Game Freak. The company has around 200 permanent employees, but hires thousands more workers to work on games like Pokémon Scarlet and Purple, the best game that barely works.

The developer doesn’t just work on Pokémon, having worked on a number of smaller titles outside of the series, some of which are available on other consoles and platforms. Indeed, Game Freak is working on a non-Pokémon action-adventure game currently alongside Private Division, a Take-Two subsidiary that focuses on independent games.