Nintendo Switch 2's first major release has fully leaked online

Things keep going from bad to worse for Nintendo and Game Freak at the moment. As a result of a massive data breach at Game Freak, Pokemon-related secrets have been spilling out left and right on an hourly basis… but the latest one is probably the worst so far.

The breach was confirmed by Game Freak themselves in a statement (it’s in Japanese) posted on their official website last week, in which they specified that a third party had compromised their servers sometime in August.

There have been huge “gigaleaks” like this before, most notably at Insomniac Games last year and even at Nintendo back in 2018, but the scale of this one just keeps ballooning.

Beta sprites for old Pokemon games and the source code for HeartGold/SoulSilver have found their way online, alongside the personal information of some of Game Freak’s staff. Even some of the details regarding the Switch 2 were included.

However, it seems the worst was yet to come, as according to those who leaked all of this information in the first place, the leaker is in possession of a fully playable build of Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

Now, we aren’t going to share any details regarding its content. What I can tell you is that you shouldn’t go looking for it regardless. Firstly, you know, it’s highly illegal to be in possession of something like that. Secondly, it would be pointless anyway.

The leaker has specified that they aren’t planning on releasing it. That might sound a little strange if you’ve been following the scale of the leak so far.

Why exactly would the leaker release stuff like the personal info of Game Freak’s employees, which is unarguably the most evil part of the leak, but draw the line at posting the Pokémon Legends: Z-A build online?

Well, your guess is as good as mine. However, if I had to guess, I would assume that said leaker is planning to sell the data off to the highest bidder.

Most data breaches like this are done with the intention of earning something back from them, and I highly doubt the leaker simply did this all for the love of the game.

Personally, the build leaking online would be tragic for a number of reasons. Video games are developed and published with the intention of making money, yes, but pouring hundreds of people’s hard work down the drain is still a shame regardless.

Here’s hoping none of this affects the release of the full game.