Japan game developer Game Freak released a statement on October 10, stating that in August, the company's server was accessed by an unauthorized third party, with leaked data including 2,606 employee names and emails, as well as personal information of former employees and outsourced workers. The team has reconstructed and inspected the server structure and will further strengthen security measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Although Game Freak only mentioned the leak of current and former employees' personal information, two days after the statement was released, a large amount of unpublished Pokémon information suddenly circulated on the internet, such as unused Pokémon/NPC designs, ongoing game projects, unpublished movie versions, official novels, and the origin of the Pokémon world view. Even a swimsuit photo of Pokémon series producer Junichi Masuda was leaked.
According to reports from PC Gamer and others, some of the leaked information includes:
- Unfinished Pokémon sprites from the third, fourth, and fifth generation games
- Concept art from the original 1997 animation
- Design specifications for the Pokémon world background story
- Meeting minutes about ending the 26-year adventure of protagonist Ash
- Preliminary ideas for a sequel to the Detective Pikachu movie
- A film proposal codenamed "Game Boy"
- The 10th generation of Pokémon, codenamed "Gaia", is scheduled to be released on the Switch 2 by the end of 2026, with two versions being tested on the Nintendo Switch and the new console
- The codename for the Switch 2 is "Ounce"
- A new game called Pokémon Legends Z-A, which the hacker praised but has no plans to leak, only sharing old data
- A multiplayer Pokémon game codenamed "Synapse" being co-developed by ILCA, the developer of the Pokémon Pearl/Diamond remakes, and Game Freak
However, the above leaked information has not been officially confirmed, and the authenticity of the circulating data cannot be verified.
The Pokémon brand operated by the Pokémon Company, a joint venture between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, is one of the most profitable IPs in the world. In addition to leading the main Pokémon games and participating in the development of spin-offs, Game Freak has also released other IP games.
No mention of blockchain game plans
It is worth noting that although the Pokémon Company has previously obtained blockchain technology patents, the leaked information does not mention any plans to create blockchain games.
According to data from the Japanese patent information platform J-PlatPat, the Pokémon Company has obtained patents related to distributed ledgers and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), with the official registration date being June 25, 2024. The patent aims to "retain players' emotional attachment to cards in digital collectible card games (TCGs)," suggesting the potential for digitizing Pokémon cards as NFTs in the future.
The patent content mentions that using distributed ledger and blockchain technology to tokenize digital cards as NFTs can allow players to freely trade and exchange cards on NFT platforms, thereby increasing trading volume and potentially generating transaction fee revenue. Players can also earn rewards based on game battle results or specific conditions.
At the same time, the Pokémon Card App is scheduled to launch officially on October 30, allowing players to easily collect Pokémon cards from around the world. However, it was recently reported that the Pokémon Company has denied the possibility of implementing NFTs in this app. Therefore, the patent may be implemented in undisclosed projects involving the Pokémon Company, and further official announcements are still awaited.
