The studios behind Pokémon and GTA have been hacked. A lot of information has hit the streets. That has big implications for our games.
A lot of news from the gaming world is positive. New games coming up, awards being handed out or hilarious experiences from gamers. Unfortunately, this news is not only worrisome, but even a little frightening.
You see, there is a similarity between Pokémon and GTA. And if more games get this similarity we will have a very big problem.
This is what Pokémon and GTA both suffer from
It’s very hard to find a similarity between GTA and Pokémon. You probably quickly think of something more akin to Palworld: Pokémon with weapons. This similarity is just not about the games themselves, but about the companies behind the games.
(image: Nintendo)
It so happens that Game Freak has been hacked. The company behind the many Pokémon games fell victim to a massive data breach. With that, not only secret information about upcoming games was leaked, but also personal information of employees.
Not too long ago, the exact same thing happened to Rockstar Games, the maker of Grand Theft Auto. In that hack, we got to see the first images of Grand Theft Auto 6. Great news you might think, but again a lot of employees were told that their personal information was out on the street.
These data breaches are bad news for the gaming world
Game Freak’s recent data leak released an awful lot of information. Complete codes and so-called builds from previous Pokémon games and informtion about new games. This sounds positive at first glance, but it is a bad influence on the gaming world.
With the codes available around old games of Pokémon, we get a better understanding of how the games are built. Those who use those codes could also build their own version of relevant Pokémon game. However, malicious people can also use the codes for scams and further hacking of games.
Most vulnerable, of course, are the employees whose personal data are online. There is a big trade in this data on the black market, which could cause a lot of trouble for these Pokémon creators.
Fantastic games may go down because of data breach
Another reason why data breaches can be disastrous for games is the way we get to see the game well before it is meant to be seen. The images and information that become available thanks to a data breach are not intended for the public’s eyes at all yet.
It happened not only to Pokémon, but also to Rockstar in late 2023. Suddenly the world got to see the first images of GTA 6, well before it was meant to be. In the case of GTA, the consequences remained relatively minor, but especially for small game studios, the consequences can be disastrous.
After all, people make judgments about the images they see, even if they are still incomplete and unpolished. And don’t like what you see? Chances are you won’t buy the game, even if it is beautifully polished. With that, game studios lose revenue and may go head over heels. With that, we lose even more small, creative studios that make great games.
