Nintendo is taking legal action in a California court to obtain a subpoena that, if granted, would compel Discord to disclose the identity of the individual behind the massive Pokemon leak known as the "FreakLeak" or the "TeraLeak". According to court documents reported by Polygon, Nintendo seeks the name, address, phone number, and email address of a Discord user named "GameFreakOUT". Last October, GameFreakOUT allegedly shared copyright-protected artwork, characters, source code, and other Pokemon-related materials on a Discord server called "FreakLeak", leading to widespread distribution across the internet.
Though not officially confirmed, the leaked materials are believed to have originated from a data breach disclosed by Game Freak in October, which occurred in August. The breach compromised 2,606 cases of employee data. Interestingly, the leaked files surfaced online on October 12, followed by Game Freak's statement the next day, which was backdated to October 10 and focused solely on employee information without mentioning other confidential materials.
The "FreakLeak" revealed details about numerous unannounced projects, including cut content, background information, and early builds of other Pokemon games. It notably disclosed information about "Pokemon Champions", a battle-focused game announced in February, and details about "Pokemon Legends: Z-A" that have since been verified. The leak also included unverified information on the next Pokemon generation, source code for DS Pokemon titles, meeting summaries, and cut lore from "Pokemon Legends: Arceus" and other games.
While Nintendo has not yet filed a lawsuit against any hacker or leaker, the subpoena suggests they are actively seeking 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 only be a matter of time before further legal action is taken.
