Nintendo is actively pursuing legal action following the significant Pokemon data breach known as the "FreakLeak" or "TeraLeak." The company has filed a request for a subpoena from a California court, aiming to compel Discord to disclose the identity of the individual behind the leak, identified on the platform as "GameFreakOUT." According to court documents reported by Polygon, Nintendo is seeking the name, address, phone number, and email address of this user.
Last October, GameFreakOUT allegedly shared a wealth of copyright-protected Pokemon materials, including artwork, characters, source code, and other related content, on a Discord server called "FreakLeak." These materials quickly spread across the internet, causing a significant leak of unannounced Pokemon projects, cut content, and early game builds.
While not officially confirmed, it is speculated that the leaked content originated from a data breach disclosed by Game Freak in August, which affected 2,606 current, former, and contract employees. The leaked files surfaced online on October 12, followed by Game Freak's statement, which was curiously backdated to October 10 and focused solely on employee data without mentioning other confidential company materials.
The "FreakLeak" revealed details about several unannounced projects, including "Pokemon Champions," a battle-centric game officially announced in February, and "Pokemon Legends: Z-A," with some of the leaked information later confirmed to be accurate. The leak also included source code for various DS Pokemon titles, meeting summaries, and cut lore from games like "Pokemon Legends: Arceus."
Although Nintendo has not yet initiated a lawsuit against any specific hacker or leaker, the subpoena suggests that the company is diligently working to identify and potentially prosecute the individual responsible. Given Nintendo's history of aggressively pursuing legal action against piracy and patent infringement, the granting of this subpoena could be a precursor to further legal action.
