Nintendo downplays claims of another hack, days after Pokemon Winds and Waves and Gen 10 'leaks' hit the web following GameFreak's alleged breach last year

Nintendo has said claims that it was recently hacked are overstated - and, yes, those mammoth Pokemon leaks oozing out onto the internet are totally unrelated.
Just last week, the infamous group Crimson Collective, notorious for hacking major companies like similarly red-logoed software maker Red Hat, claimed that it had infiltrated the publisher of Super Mario and Zelda. There were still questions about what exactly had been hacked, if anything, but it now seems that the answer is: not much.
In a statement provided to The Sankei Shimbun, translated via DeepL, the console maker stated that it has "not confirmed any leak of personal information, and there has been no leak of development or business information." The Japanese outlet also reports that the hack only affected some external servers displaying the Big N's logo - sensitive data like customer info, employee details, or development materials were untouched.
The timing might be curious as another major Pokemon leak hit the internet this past week - with materials seemingly related to Pokemon Legends Z-A, Generation 10, and beyond - but those details were allegedly leftovers from 2024's similarly huge breach and not a result of any recent cyberattack.
In other words, don't expect to see similar in-development documents from other non-Pokemon Nintendo games because, well, Crimson Collective's cyberattack didn't poke that far.
Still, the close call recently prompted Nintendo's former marketing leads to say the publisher and The Pokemon Company "really need to rethink their approach to information security."
For now, check out our Pokemon Legends Z-A review and a guide to the best starter in Pokemon Legends Z-A.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
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