Nintendo Seeks Discord User Data in Pokemon TeraLeak Probe

Nintendo is taking legal action in a California court to obtain a subpoena that would compel Discord to reveal the identity of the individual behind the massive Pokemon leak known as the "FreakLeak" or "TeraLeak." Court documents reported by Polygon indicate that Nintendo is seeking the name, address, phone number, and email address of the Discord user "GameFreakOUT." This user is alleged to have shared copyright-protected artwork, characters, source code, and other Pokemon-related materials on a Discord server called "FreakLeak" last October, leading to widespread distribution across the internet.

While not officially confirmed, these materials may have originated from a data breach disclosed by Game Freak in October, following the breach in August. This breach involved the unauthorized access of 2,606 current, former, and contract employees' names. Interestingly, the leaked files surfaced online on October 12, followed by Game Freak's statement the next day, which was dated back to October 10 and focused solely on employee data without mentioning other confidential materials.

The leak exposed details about several unannounced projects, including cut content, background information, and early builds of various Pokemon games. It notably revealed "Pokemon Champions," a battle-focused game announced in February, and provided accurate information about the upcoming "Pokemon Legends: Z-A." Additionally, it included unverified details about the next generation of Pokemon, source code for DS Pokemon titles, meeting summaries, and omitted lore from "Pokemon Legends: Arceus" and other titles.

Although Nintendo has not yet filed a lawsuit against a specific hacker or leaker, the pursuit of this subpoena suggests a strong intent to identify and potentially take legal action against the person responsible. Given Nintendo's history of aggressive legal action against piracy and patent infringement, it seems likely that further legal steps could follow if the subpoena is granted.