Game Freak acknowledges massive Pokémon data breach, as employee info appears online

Pokémon developer Game Freak has acknowledged a massive data breach, which has seen thousands of confidential documents shared online related to the franchise, and its employees.

In a statement published on Sunday, the company claimed that over 2,000 pieces of employee information have been stolen from the company.

It acknowledged “unauthorized access by a third party,” which it said has resulted in the personal information of current, former, and contract employees of the developer appearing online.

Other content related to the company and the Pokémon franchise was also stolen and is being circulated online. However, this content isn’t referenced in Game Freak‘s statement.

According to the statement, full names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers are part of the compromised data. Game Freak has said that it will contact affected employees where it can.

“Those who can not be contacted individually due to retirement or other reasons will be notified in this announcement, and a contact person will be set up to respond to inquiries regarding this matter. ”

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern this may have caused to all concerned,” Game Freak said.

Game Freak claims that the vulnerability that caused the issue has already been rebuilt.

Game Freak is one of the three companies with a controlling stake in the Pokémon franchise. The developer has also been the primary developer of the main series of video game titles since they began in the 90s.

Game Freak is currently working on multiple games including Pokémon Legends Z-A for Nintendo Switch. Announced earlier this year, the game will be the second Pokémon Legends game following Pokémon Legends Arceus.