Nintendo has revealed it’s seeking legal action against GameFreakOUT after last year’s massive leak of Pokémon game data on Discord, dubbed the ‘Teraleak.’ The firm’s lawyers filed a request to subpoena Discord on April 18 to reveal information on the alleged culprit behind the Teraleak source in October 2024.
Nintendo said that the Pokemon game data breach was called ‘Teraleak’ because of how much information was released online. According to the company, the leaker claimed to have the source code for the upcoming game Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which has yet to be released. The hacker also claimed to have source code for next-generation Pokémon titles, builds of older games, and loads of concept art and lore documents.
Nintendo lawyers subpoena Discord for Pokémon Teraleak source
UPDATE: Massive Pokémon data breach from October 2024
Nintendo of America’s attorneys filed an application for a DMCA subpoena that would order Discord to reveal the identify of the user “GameFreakOUT” who leaked thousands of unreleased documents and source code on the server… pic.twitter.com/6nhFoYIiFB
— Nintendeal (@Nintendeal) April 19, 2025
Nintendo has heightened its pursuit of the culprit responsible for the massive leak of Pokémon game data in October 2024, called the ‘Teraleak.’ The company’s lawyers have now filed a request to subpoena Discord, where materials from the Teraleak spread, for information on the alleged culprit.
Court documents showed that the gaming company wants the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to force Discord to reveal user GameFreakOUT’s name and personal details. According to the documents, Nintendo is seeking the name, address, phone number, and email address of the leaker.
“NOA is requesting the attached proposed subpoena that would order Discord Inc. to disclose the identity, including the name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), and e-mail address(es), of the user ‘GameFreakout,’ who is responsible for posting content infringing the Pokemon Game Materials.”
–James D. Berkeley, Nintendo attorney.
The gaming company noted in a declaration accompanying the subpoena request that a Discord user named GameFreakOUT posted the “confidential materials not released to the public” to a Discord server called FreakLeak. Nintendo alleged that the user leaked vast amounts of data from Game Freak’s own servers, unveiling previously unseen development materials and beta versions of past Pokémon games. The Discord user also shed light on details of several unannounced and canceled projects.
Nintendo seeks the identity of Pokémon data breach culprit
Nintendo acknowledged it attempted to take down the leaked materials with DMCA requests, but the internet persisted. It still remains unclear if GameFreakOUT is the person responsible for hacking Game Freak and obtaining the data in the first place.
Nintendo attorney James D. Berkeley wrote that the purpose of the subpoena is “to obtain the identity of the Discord user ‘GameFreakOUT,’ who posted infringing content that appeared at the Infringing Server.” The gaming firm also included a partially redacted screenshot of the Discord server alongside the declaration, in which the user GameFreakOUT posted a file and told users to “enjoy.”
The Pokémon leaks were published around October 12, 2024, but Game Freak revealed in a statement on October 10, before the information was released, that it had been compromised. The Pokémon developer mentioned that “unauthorized access” to its servers had been obtained “by a third party.”
Game Freak acknowledged that the hack impacted employee information, including 2,600 items of personal data, but did not confirm that confidential game information had been stolen. The game developer also said it had since secured the server and is strengthening its security measures. The firm promised that “we have already rebuilt and re-inspected the server and will strive to prevent recurrence by further strengthening our security measures.”
Nintendo also pushed a similar subpoena in 2023 to obtain details of a user who leaked information from a then-published Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom art book. The firm also went after two Pokémon fans who leaked details of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through images taken from a strategy guide. The gaming company’s lawyers sought out the culprits and ultimately settled for a fine of $300K.
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