Major Pokémon Leak Angers Nintendo
After the massive leak that shook the Pokémon world last year, Nintendo has finally made its legal move. The company has filed a lawsuit in California to determine the person it believes is responsible for the incident known as “Teraleak”, which caused hundreds of confidential documents and images to be spread across the internet. Nintendo wants to obtain the identity, address and contact information of the person who shared the username “GameFreakOUT” on Discord. While the impact of this major leak is still ongoing, the company’s move indicates that the incident will grow even bigger.
Nintendo Pushes the Boundaries
The application in question was revealed in an official document submitted by Nintendo to the US District Court for the Northern District of California on April 18. According to the statement in the documents, a Discord user named “GameFreakOUT” shared non-public and confidential materials on a server called “FreakLeak.” This content includes the source code for the Pokémon Legends: Z-A game, production files for old games, conceptual drawings and lore documents. Despite Nintendo’s DMCA applications, these materials spread rapidly on the internet.
In his statement to the court, James D. Berkley, one of the company’s lawyers, stated that the purpose of this request was to learn the identity of the user “GameFreakOUT”. It is also noteworthy that the user in question shared a file and used the phrase “enjoy” in the attached screenshot. Although the document requested from the court does not directly amount to a lawsuit, it is known that Nintendo has previously filed a lawsuit after similar leaks.
In a statement made by Game Freak two days before the leaks, on October 10, 2024, it was stated that the company was subject to a cyber attack. Although it was stated that only employee information was leaked at that time, the details that have now emerged show that the matter is actually much bigger.
Nintendo had previously taken legal action after the leak of the Pokémon Sword & Shield guidebooks. For this reason, it seems quite possible that the company will initiate a similar lawsuit in this incident where early production files and information about the games were spread. The developments once again prove that Nintendo has no tolerance for such leaks.
