Pokémon fans divided over new game leaked on PC

As eager as many of us are to hear updates on upcoming video games, I’d hope it’s understood just how damaging major leaks can be.

Whether it’s employee information that surfaces online or early builds of a game, such events can truly jeopardise a project for developers.

It’s saddening to see that so many major studios have been targeted by such cyber-attacks in recent years.

Rockstar Games fell victim to a cyber-attack in 2022 followed by Insomniac Games last year.

In Insomniac Games’ instance, it’s suspected - although this is not confirmed - that the attack may explain why DLC hasn’t surfaced for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

The game itself hinted at several DLC storylines with the leak confirming our suspicions.

But given that nothing has surfaced, some are theorising that the leak may have led to the project's delay or cancellation.

It’s with all of this in mind that it’s hugely upsetting to see that Game Freak is the latest studio to be targeted ahead of the launch of Pokémon Legends Z-A.

Take a look at Pokémon Legends Z-A’s trailer below.

The Game Freak leak has seen employee information surface online, alongside some questionable lore about certain ‘mons.

The main focus of the leak though was the upcoming Pokémon Legends Z-A.

While I won’t be diving into specifics so as to respect the work of developers, I will say that a PC build of the game is one of the leaked entities - and it’s believed to be fully playable.

Strangely, the person behind this cyber-attack has said that although he holds a copy of the build, it’s the one thing he won’t post online - although who’s to say his stance won’t change.

If you’ve seen this information floating about online, don’t get too ahead of yourself thinking that this means the game is launching on PC.

It’s standard practice for a game to have a PC build during development.

I have to say, I’m thrilled to see that Pokémon fans are concerned about the leak. It’s nice to know that the wider gaming community is aware of just how damaging such events can be.

“Very sad indeed,” wrote Reddit user John_DF.

“What a nightmare scenario for Nintendo,” added another user.

Hopefully, Game Freak will be able to weather this storm.