Pokemon Developer Game Freak Issues Statement on Data Hack

It looks like yesterday’s news about developer Game Freak being the target of a hack is indeed true, as the Japanese studio has now officially acknowledged the data leak and confirms it’s a server breach in a new letter addressed to gamers.

In a post on the company’s website, the studio confirms that personal information of their employees (both current and former) has been compromised, with the number of items affected listed at 2,606, and even mentions ways to prevent it from happening in the future.

What Did Game Freak Have to Say About the Hack?

Here’s the complete statement (translated via Google):

GAME FREAK Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Satoshi Tajiri, hereinafter referred to as “our company”) has discovered 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 great inconvenience and concern this has caused to all those involved.

Leaked personal information

Personal data regarding our employees, etc. Items: Name, company email address Number of cases: 2,606 *Our employees, contract workers (including former employees and ex-employees)

Response to those whose personal information has been leaked We are contacting the affected employees individually. For those who cannot be contacted individually due to leaving the company, etc., we will notify them through this announcement and set up a contact point to respond to inquiries regarding this matter.

Measures to prevent recurrence

We have already rebuilt and re-inspected the server, and will strive to prevent recurrence by further strengthening our security measures.

Inquiries regarding this matter

If you are a subject of this matter, please contact the following office for inquiries:

Some of the compromised data included, aside from the personal info, allegedly includes the source code for a few Pokemon games, and even the files of a still-in-development game in the franchise with the codename “Synapse.”

Game Freak isn’t the first studio to get hacked, nor will it be the last. The most high-profile data breaches in gaming recently include the Grand Theft Auto VI hack from 2022, and the Insomniac Games ransomware breach that saw the hackers spill a ton of info online after Sony refused to give in to the demands.

10 Best Pokemon ROM Hacks To Play In 2024

Enjoy some phenomenal custom Pokemon content.

Chances are, this won’t be the last time of Game Freak’s data breach and the news that comes out of it, as dataminers are combing through the data as we speak. Once anything pertinent surfaces, we’ll let our readers know.