Nintendo hunts Discord user after massive Pokémon leak

Nintendo is trying to force Discord to reveal the identity of the user GameFreakOUT, identified as responsible for spreading the Teraleak — the massive data leak of Pokémon games that occurred in October 2024. Documents obtained by Polygon show that the lawyers of the Mario creator requested the Northern District Court of California for a formal subpoena to force Discord to provide the name and personal details of the user.

The Teraleak exposed unprecedented information directly from Game Freak servers, including details of beta versions of previous Pokémon games, canceled projects and development aspects never before revealed. According to the legal petition, Nintendo alleges that GameFreakOUT published "confidential materials not released to the public," which quickly spread among the fan community.

It is still unclear if GameFreakOUT was responsible for the initial hacking. A few days before the leak, Game Freak acknowledged the "unauthorized access" to its servers by "third parties" and stated that they had strengthened security after the incident.

Similar cases reinforce the company's strategy: in 2023, Nintendo also sought information from a user who leaked content from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and in 2021, two Pokémon Sword and Shield fans were sued after leaking information via photos of a strategy guide, resulting in a fine of US$ 300,000.

If Discord complies with the request, Nintendo will likely proceed with new legal actions against GameFreakOUT.