Game Freak, the company behind the Pokémon franchise, is hit with a security breach that has put the data of over 2,600 employees and partners at risk. The data leak was first brought to light on a forum called 4chan earlier this month before it started circulating on social media and other online forums.

Dubbed “TeraLeak,” the breach contains multiple gigabytes of information as per Centro Leaks, a Pokémon leak monitoring account. Allegedly, the data also includes inside information about video games, source code for existing frames, and data on unreleased Pokémon games.

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Game Freak Data Breach Puts Employee Data At Risk

On October 11, Game Freak confirmed that it had suffered a security breach in August in which an unauthorized third-party actor gained access to the video game company’s system and exposed sensitive data regarding current and former employees.

However, the gaming firm has refrained from commenting on whether the data regarding its games and code have been leaked, though it has noted that it rebuilt and inspected the server and will try to prevent the event from happening again.

"We are contacting the affected employees individually [and] will set up a hotline for those who cannot be contacted directly and to handle inquiries regarding this matter," the company said.

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Nintendo Switch 2 Details Also Leaked in Breach

Sensitive data, including data on unannounced projects and internal information regarding the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, has also been leaked online, raising concerns among fans and industry insiders.

Sources suggest that the breach compromised valuable information on several upcoming Pokemon games that haven’t been revealed yet. This could potentially spoil some surprises the company had in store for its consumers. With the franchise’s decorated history of secrecy surrounding game development, such leaks are particularly concerning for Game Freak and Nintendo.

The leaked data also purportedly contains the codename for the much-awaited Nintendo Switch 2, further boosting speculations about the next-gen console. While the details are still scarce, this revelation could have significant implications for the company's marketing strategies, particularly as Nintendo prepares to transition to its next hardware.

Microsoft has settled the antitrust lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of gamers who objected to the firm’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As per a report from The Wrap, details of the settlement were not revealed, but we do know the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be filed again.

The lawsuit was filed in 2022 in California by a group of gamers from multiple states who expressed concern about the potential negative impact of a Microsoft monopoly in the video game space sparked by absorbing the makers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush, among many other games. It came right after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began its work to block the deal from closing, work that eventually failed.

The lawsuit claimed that if Microsoft is going to take over Activision Blizzard, it could lead to the company prioritizing Xbox versions of multiplatform games, prices rising, or the cancelation of certain games. There was concern about the potential impact on Game Pass subscribers should the buyout go through.

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Game Pass Changed Drastically After Acquisition

Since Microsoft took over Activision Blizzard in 2023, Game Pass has changed. It slowly added Activision Blizzard games to the subscription service, but it’s also restructured Game Pass.

Day-one releases aren’t a part of Game Pass’ revised basic tier anymore, and big-ticket games such as Diablo 4, Starfield, and Call of Duty are reserved for the more expensive Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscriptions. Meanwhile, the company has also increased the price of Game Pass, most recently in July when Xbox Game Pass Ultimate increased from $16.99 to $19.99 per month.

In response, the FTC called out the company’s Game Pass price hikes and labeled the new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier a “degraded product.” The FTC claimed Microsoft was "exercising market power post-merger" of Activision Blizzard with its controversial changes to Game Pass.

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Microsoft Finds FTC’s Complaint Misleading

Microsoft responded to the FTC’s filing about Xbox Game Pass price increases, calling the FTC’s complaint a "misleading, extra-record account of the facts." It insisted the FTC was wrong to call Game Pass Standard a “degraded” version because it includes multiplayer.

Previously, Microsoft also laid off 2,550 staff from its gaming business since acquiring Activision Blizzard, with multiple studios flying by the wayside. In February, the FTC claimed Microsoft contradicted its intentions during its takeover of Activision Blizzard when it laid off 1,900 employees from its games division in January.

An unannounced Death Note game based on the popular anime and manga series has been rated in Taiwan. First spotted by Gematsu, the rating is for both PS5 and PS4, with the full game name as Death Note: Killer Within. Bandai Namco is the publisher. No further details have been revealed at this time, including the storyline of the game or release date.

Moreover, it’s not known if this is related to the upcoming live-action TV series produced by Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers, which currently does not have a release date.

This isn’t the first time Death Note has been adapted for a video game, although the previous games from Konami were all Japanese-only - most notably, the Nintendo DS game Death Note: Kira Game.

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Everything Known About Death Note: Killer

If Death Note: Killer Within gets a global release, then, it would be a turning point for the series in video game terms. The English title hints that’s the case. For the unversed, Death Note’s story follows a high school student who finds out that the notebook with the supernatural ability to kill anyone written on its pages and his attempts to kill anyone he deems immoral to create a crime-free society. His plans are derailed by an elite detective force.

So, would this game be a detective story-focused game? An action game? An RPG? It’s anyone’s guess. With its anime basis and Bandai Namco publishing, Death Note: Killer Within would follow the recently released Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, which launched recently and received critical acclaim.

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Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero Sells 3 Million Copies In a Day

Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero has got off to a flying start, as it sold three million sales in 24 hours. The first sequel in more than 15 years in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series launched on October 11 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam, and quickly witnessed a spike, reaching the list of the most-played games on Valve’s platform. Neither Sony nor Microsoft makes their console numbers public.

Sparking! Zero soon moved past the Steam peak player counts of every other Dragon Ball game released on the platform -- and it’s not even close. SteamDB currently reports a peak player count of 122,554, which was achieved at launch.

The next-highest peak player count for a Dragon Ball game was set by Arc System Work’s fighting game Dragon Ball FighterZ, which topped out at 44,303.

Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero has got off to a flying start, as it sold three million sales in 24 hours. The first sequel in more than 15 years in the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series launched on October 11 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam, and quickly witnessed a spike, reaching the list of the most-played games on Valve’s platform. Neither Sony nor Microsoft makes their console numbers public.

Sparking! Zero soon moved past the Steam peak player counts of every other Dragon Ball game released on the platform -- and it’s not even close. SteamDB currently reports a peak player count of 122,554, which was achieved at launch.

The next-highest peak player count for a Dragon Ball game was set by Arc System Work’s fighting game Dragon Ball FighterZ, which topped out at 44,303.

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Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero Touching New Heights

To put the game’s success in context, at least on Steam, Capcom's Street Fighter 6 has a peak player count of 70,573, while NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat 1 peaked with 38,129 players.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco, is an arena combat game with phenomena; and visuals based on the popular anime.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero launched on October 11 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, but users can enjoy it on Android as well, thanks to emulation. Fans wasted no time testing out this anime fighting game, developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco.

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Pokémon Gaming Company Employee Info Leaked In Data Breach

Game Freak, the company behind the Pokémon franchise, is hit with a security breach that has put the data of over 2,600 employees and partners at risk. The data leak was first brought to light on a forum called 4chan earlier this month before it started circulating on social media and other online forums.

Dubbed “TeraLeak,” the breach contains multiple gigabytes of information as per Centro Leaks, a Pokémon leak monitoring account. Allegedly, the data also includes inside information about video games, source code for existing frames, and data on unreleased Pokémon games.

On October 11, Game Freak confirmed that it had suffered a security breach in August in which an unauthorized third-party actor gained access to the video game company’s system and exposed sensitive data regarding current and former employees.

Riot Games has announced it will be reducing its workforce from the League of Legends PC development team. The company hasn’t revealed the number of developers it will lay off from the team, while simultaneously pledging to boost the size of the League of Legends team.

In a post on X, Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill shared "An Update on How We're Evolving League" where the broke the news of layoffs, explaining that this "isn't about reducing headcount to save money." Instead, the layoffs are apparently occurring so the company can ensure they have the “right expertise.”

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Riot Games Claims Layoffs Are Not To Save Resources

"While team effectiveness is more important than team size, the League team will eventually be even larger than it is today as we develop the next phase of League," Merrill continued. "For Rioters who are laid off, we’re supporting them with a severance package that includes a minimum of six months' pay, annual bonus, job placement assistance, health coverage, and more."

Merrill continued in a follow-up post, where he said that the success of a development team is unrelated to its size. "If we’re solving the wrong problems, more resources won’t fix it. It’s about building smarter and healthier, not just bigger."

Folks at IGN reached out to the company to get more clarity on the reason behind the layoffs how many jobs were affected, and if those individuals will be replaced as part of the planned team expansion.

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How Many Employees Were Affected By Riot Games Layoff

According to a spokesperson, 27 employees were impacted across League of Legends development team and an additional five roles on the company’s publishing team. The spokesperson said that those impacted would have the ability to use the company’s internal job to apply for other roles at Riot.

League of Legends celebrates its 15th anniversary, which Merrill references briefly in the post "so that League continues to be great for another 15 years and beyond." The layoffs come after nine months after the riot already laid off 530 individuals, around 11% of its workforce, in an attempt to cut costs after taking too many “big bets” as a company.

As per a games industry layoff tracker, this puts the number of fired game developers in 2024 alone at over 13,000, with more than 10,000 laid off in 2023 and over 8,000 in 2022.

Popular Twitch streamer and known basement dweller, Asmongold, finds himself in hot water after hateful comments against the Palestinians. On October 14, 2024, Zachary “Zack” C,  better known as Asmongold, made racist comments regarding the Gaza-Israel conflict. During this tirade, the streamer stated that he has “no sympathy” for the  Palestinian people. Not only was it quickly noticed by his fanbase, but it also attracted a lot of criticism and ire from within his community and from prominent figures like Hasan "Hasanabi" Piker, who interviewed him live on stream shortly afterwar.

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Asmongold Makes Controversial Statement Regarding Palestine On Livestream

Asmongold is known for his livestreams and commentary on various video games. As video game livestreamer, he has garnered a massive fan following in the past few years. While this is not the first time the streamer has been in the crosshairs of controversy, this statement was undoubtedly one of his most controversial takes. The Twitch clip has received a lot of negative attention from his fans, and other viewers as well. His statement is regarding how certain people following their beliefs are from “inferior” culture. His statement also talks about the more controversial and sensitive topic of “genocide”.

In his statement, Asmongold states the following words, which took the internet by storm:

“I’m not going to cry when people who have genocide that's baked into their laws, are getting genocided.” This controversial take from the streamer quickly changed the mood of the stream, as many popular streamers such as HasanAbi also started talking about it on their livestreams. 

“I don't give a f**k, they are terrible people. It's not even a question, it's crazy that people don't see it that way. They'd be doing the same thing," continued Asmongold. “They are not able to kill as many people as Israel because they don't have as many bombs or weapons. But if they did they'd be doing the same thing.”

The hygienically unmotivated streamer later made an apology on his Twitter/X, claiming it was his "bad". With many in the community unhappy with his demeanour and conduct during the steam, many are calling for a ban on Twitch. It remains to be seen what Twitch decides to do. It seems likely that the streamer will receive a ban, the severity of which is still to be determined.