Nintendo is actively pursuing legal action in a California court to obtain a subpoena that would compel Discord to disclose the personal details of the individual behind the significant Pokemon leak dubbed the "FreakLeak" or "TeraLeak." The company is specifically targeting a Discord user known as "GameFreakOUT," who is accused of sharing copyrighted Pokemon artwork, characters, source code, and other materials on a Discord server called "FreakLeak" last October. These materials subsequently spread across the internet.
According to court documents reviewed by Polygon, Nintendo is seeking the name, address, phone number, and email address of "GameFreakOUT." The leaked content, which may have originated from a data breach disclosed by Game Freak in August and reported in October, included 2,606 instances of accessed employee data. Interestingly, the leaked files surfaced online on October 12, followed by Game Freak's statement the next day, which was dated October 10 but did not mention the breach of confidential company materials beyond employee information.
The "FreakLeak" revealed a wealth of information, including details about unannounced projects such as "Pokemon Champions," a battle-focused game officially announced in February, and "Pokemon Legends: Z-A," with some information later confirmed. Additionally, the leak included source code for various DS Pokemon titles, meeting summaries, and cut content from "Pokemon Legends: Arceus" and other games.
While Nintendo has not yet filed a lawsuit against any hacker or leaker, the pursuit of this subpoena suggests that the company is intent on identifying the person responsible. Given Nintendo's history of aggressively litigating issues related to piracy and patent infringement, it appears likely that legal action may follow if the subpoena is granted.
