Game Freak confirms security breach after its data leaks

Game Freak, a Japanese video game developer famous for being the co-owner of the developing studio of the Pokémon game franchise, has confirmed that it became the subject of a cybercriminal attack last August.

The incident forced the gaming company to admit the issue after the attack’s perpetrators allegedly leaked their unpublished games’ source code and game designs.

The gaming studio has released multiple titles in the Pokémon series for various Nintendo platforms like the 3DS, Switch, iOS, and Android. However, it suffered a gruelling weekend after various leak sites and channels on X, Reddit, and Discord started to post screenshots of the company’s source code and dev builds of their upcoming Pokémon games.

 

Game Freak confirmed the security breach but did not verify whether the game-related data had been leaked.

 

Game Freak has not confirmed the breach of this game data; nevertheless, it has confirmed that the incident has compromised the personal information of its staff, contractors, and former employees, including retirees and past business associates.

Game Freak Inc. explained that the incident happened in August when an unauthorised party gained illegal access to the firm’s servers. However, the company sincerely apologises for any inconvenience the breach caused concerned individuals.

Furthermore, the confirmed illegally accessed information contains full names and firm email addresses. Hence, people potentially affected by the data leak should be wary of targeted phishing attacks or brute force campaigns.

The company assured that those compromised by the attack will receive individual notification letters. These letters will be sent to those who cannot access the firm’s website, as Game Freak has already posted a separate notification, but it cannot reach every concerned party.

On the other hand, the incident did not impact any Pokémon player data, as Game Freak reports that its thorough examination did not notice any problem related to the information. Lastly, the company said that they have already improved their security measures to prevent similar breaches in the future.

As of now, no known threat actor or cybercriminal organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack on one of the most well-known gaming developers.