Nintendo is currently seeking a subpoena from a California court that, if successful, would compel Discord to disclose the identity of the individual behind last year's significant Pokemon leak, referred to as the "FreakLeak" or the "TeraLeak." According to court documents obtained and reported by Polygon, Nintendo is asking for an order that would require Discord to reveal the name, address, phone number, and email address of a user known as "GameFreakOUT." This user is accused of posting copyrighted artwork, characters, source code, and other Pokemon-related materials to a Discord server called "FreakLeak" last October, which subsequently spread widely across the internet.
Although not officially confirmed, it's believed that these materials were obtained during a data breach disclosed by Game Freak in October, which occurred back in August. The breach compromised 2,606 cases of personal information belonging to current, former, and contract employees of Game Freak. Interestingly, the leaked files surfaced online on October 12, and Game Freak's statement, which was backdated to October 10, appeared online the following day. The statement, however, only mentioned the breach of employee information and did not reference any confidential company materials.
The materials leaked included details on numerous unannounced projects, cut content, background information, and early builds of various Pokemon games. A notable revelation was information about Pokemon Champions, a battle-focused game announced in February, as well as accurate details about Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The leak also included unverified information about the next generation of Pokemon, source code for various DS Pokemon titles, meeting summaries, and cut lore from Pokemon Legends: Arceus and other titles.
While Nintendo has not yet filed a lawsuit against a hacker or leaker, the pursuit of this subpoena suggests that the company is actively working to identify the person responsible. Given Nintendo's history of aggressive legal action against piracy and patent infringement, if the subpoena is granted, it may be only a matter of time before further legal action is taken.
