According to a statement released by Game Freak, the company had a data breach in August 2024.
According to the company, 2,606 instances of the names and email addresses of current, past, and contract employees were unlawfully accessed from its system. The date on the Japanese language announcement is October 10, 2024, and it does not refer to the Pokémon data that has since surfaced.
Game Freak said that the vulnerability at the core of the hack has been fixed and apologized to everyone impacted by the data leak.
Codenames for 10th generation Pokémon games and even the Nintendo Switch 2 were reportedly leaked as a result of a serious hack that affected Pokémon developer Game Freak.
The codenames of Nintendo’s next-generation console (allegedly called “Ounce”), the unannounced 10th generation Pokémon game (reportedly called “Gaia”), and the announced Pokemon Legends: Z-A (“Ikkaku”) are among the leaked data, according to Nintendo Life.
Neither Nintendo nor The Pokémon Company have stated the leaks. Gamexta has asked both for a comment. (UPDATE: The Pokémon Company has now made a statement, above.)
The leak includes the codenames for two versions of the 10th generation Pokémon game (“K” and “N”), which could be related to Nintendo’s plan to release the game as a cross-generation title for both the Switch and its successor. Nintendo Life states that “Ounce” is identified as the intended platform.
There are also reports of a Pokémon game called “Synapse” being mentioned. Some rumors claim that this unnamed game, which is reportedly being co-developed with another team, is a Pokémon MMO.
In other news, it has been alleged that the source code for the DS games Pokémon HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black 2, and White 2 has leaked, leading to the appearance of stolen, unused Pokémon assets and even game music online.
Aside from the games themselves, there is storyline information about The Great Detective Pikachu, an unpublished follow-up to the 2019 Detective Pikachu film. What happened to this film is unknown, but it was supposedly directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer, Kong: Skull Island) and was scheduled for release in 2024. There is proof that a trilogy of live-action Pokémon films was once contemplated, with the final one reportedly centered on the Game Boy.
The data also includes Pokémon lore information, emailed meeting summaries, and a reference to an as-yet-unannounced Netflix live-action Pokémon series.
The infamous Nintendo “gigaleak” of 2020, which included previously undiscovered canceled games, prototypes, source code, development tools, and internal communications as part of what was then the largest leak of internal video game information ever made public, is brought back to mind by this Pokémon leak.
Before an official announcement, the community called Nintendo’s next-generation device the Switch 2. Alleged prototype pictures of the Switch replacement surfaced online last month. Nintendo has not yet responded to the pictures.
What we do know is that creators intend to make their next games available on the Switch 2. Nintendo anticipates having a plenty of stock when the Switch 2 does eventually launch, which should help prevent scalping.
Nintendo claims that Pokémon Legends: Z-A will be available on “Nintendo Switch platforms” in 2025, although the exact release date is still unknown. That statement raised rumors that Pokémon Legends: Z-A would also be available on the Switch 2.
The gap between significant Pokémon releases is expected to be one of the longest in the franchise’s history, according to fans. The Pokémon Trading Card Game on mobile will be the biggest series release in 2024, as no mainline entries are coming out this year, and no rumors of a remake.
