Pokémon developer officially responds to hack that confirms Switch 2 codename

The Pokémon maker confirmed it was the victim of a hack resulting in a substantial data leak that revealed details about the Nintendo Switch 2, personal employee information, game source code, new games, plans pasts, Pokémon designs and much more.

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This leak is by no means small, as it is called “Teraleak,” and as time passes, more details seem to emerge. More than three years after the last major Nintendo-related tie-in, Game Freak, the developers of Pokemon, confirmed that its databases had been breached and that data acquired by hackers included source code, concept art, placeholder assets, detailed articles on the history of the series, company meetings on possible multimedia adaptations, code names for future Pokémon titles and code name for the successor to the Nintendo Switch.

The leak is estimated to be around 2TB of data, but at the time of writing, only 3GB had been released. Of that 3 GB, there are 2,606 items containing the names and email addresses of current, former and contract employees. Game Freak said the hack took place in August this year. As for the successor to the Nintendo Switch, the leak revealed that the mysterious console’s codename is “Ounce“.

Notably, this will not be the name of the next Nintendo console but simply the code name used internally. Nintendo hasn’t officially revealed the name of its next console, but it seems obvious, given the popularity of the Nintendo Switch, that the company’s next console will be a more refined and powerful version called the Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo used code names. For example, Nintendo called the GameCube “Dolphin“and the Wii like”Revolution“, while the Wii U was called “Project cafe“and the Switch was”NX“. None of the code names were indicators of the console names.

Nintendo officially plans to unveil its next console before the end of the fiscal year, which technically means anytime before the end of March 2025.

The leak made source code available for several Pokémon DS titles, while revealing the codename “Gaia,” which would be the name given internally to Generation 10. Additionally, reports indicate that Pokémon Legends: ZA is in development for “Ounce“, or the Switch 2.

In other Nintendo news, the company recently generated some mystery, forcing players to keep quiet about a Nintendo Switch Online playtest. scheduled between October 23 and November 5. Participants were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before they could download the software.

Notice and apology regarding leak of personal information following unauthorized access

Game Freak Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Satoshi Tajiri; hereinafter referred to as “our company”) has discovered that personal information of employees and others has been disclosed in connection with access not authorized to our server by a third party. in August 2024. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused to everyone involved.

1. Leak of personal information

Personal data concerning our employees, etc.

Elements: name, company email address

Number of articles: 2,606,

*Our employees and contractors (including former employees and ex-employees)

2. Responses to people whose personal information has been disclosed

We are contacting the affected employees individually. For those who cannot be contacted individually due to resignation or other reasons, we will notify them via this announcement and set up a point of contact to respond to inquiries on this matter.

3. Measures to prevent recidivism

We have already rebuilt and inspected the server and will work to prevent this from happening again by further strengthening our security measures.

4. Inquiries about this

If you are affected by this issue, please contact the following office with any inquiries:

(Application form)

– replied Game Freak