Game Freak, the primary developer of the Pokémon games, has suffered a serious data breach. Personal details of the staff have been published online, as well as a large repository of documents on Pokémon, including the source code for entire builds of previous games.
In a statement, Game Freak said the leak was the result of “unauthorized access to our servers by a third party” and it apologized for releasing more than 2,600 items of personal data. It said the breach occurred in August 2024 and the affected servers had already been rebuilt.
Information from the leaked files began to surface widely on Saturday and Sunday, and Game Freak's statement appeared online on Sunday. However, the statement is dated Thursday, October 10. The statement alluded to the leaking of personal details of employees, but did not mention the release of any confidential game data.
“game Freak […] The studio's statement said that personal information of our employees and others was leaked in connection with unauthorized access to our servers by a third party in August 2024. “We sincerely apologize for the enormous inconvenience and anxiety this has caused everyone involved.”
Game Freak said it was personally contacting affected employees. “We have already rebuilt and re-inspected the servers, and will try to prevent a recurrence by further strengthening our security measures,” it said.
Polygon has contacted The Pokemon Company for comment. Game Freak is one of three stakeholders in Pokémon, including Nintendo and Creatures Inc., the developer pokemon trading card game,