A massive Game Freak hack resulted in a terabyte of data leaking, including something many believe to be a Pokemon MMORPG, but is that actually true?
Nintendo’s legal battles may not stop with Palworld. A massive hack has breached Game Freak, reportedly leaking over a terabyte of data. The files contain sensitive information about the company’s upcoming projects and early designs for several gen-four Pokemon.
Unfortunately, the breach also leaked the personal information of multiple employees, leading some fans to tread cautiously to avoid doxxing real people. While Nintendo and GameFreak have not officially responded, one leak has caused a stir among the Pokemon community.
Is Game Freak making a Pokemon MMORPG?
Game Freak is reportedly working with ILCA on an online multiplayer game, but not a Pokemon MMORPG.
Initially, fans uncovered files they believed connected to a multiplayer GameFreak project codenamed “Synapse.” Leakers claim Project Synapse is a multiplayer-focused Pokemon title. The proximity of the files gave fans the false impression it was a Pokemon MMORPG. Despite early speculation and wishful thinking, a careful look at the files supposedly revealed no relation to Project Synapse and the alleged Pokemon MMORPG.
Pokemon is known to have dabbled with MMORPGs in the past. A 2020 leak saw the source codes for several classic Nintendo games and some unreleased projects. Included in that was info on a scrapped MMORPG for the Game Boy Advance based on Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen.
Neither Nintendo nor Game Freak have commented on the breach, and history suggests that won’t change.
Reaction to the possibility of a Pokemon MMORPG was split. Pokemon fans tend to express their opinions passionately, and the alleged Pokemon MMO brought out those opinions in force.
Fans questioned whether Game Freak could even realize this concept effectively. Nintendo’s notoriously poor multiplayer experiences further colored the perceptions of a Pokemon MMORPG. While certain successful MMORPGs are available on Nintendo Switch, these have not been developed by Nintendo.
Others countered that a different studio would head development, with Game Freak only providing oversight. The majority of Pokemon games aren’t actually developed by Game Freak, after all. Niantic created Pokemon GO, Pokemon TCG Online was run by Dire Wolf Digital, and so on.
However, the success of MMORPGs like TemTem proves the potential of “Pokemon-like” games in a collaborative setting. Whether that will ever extend to a fully fledged MMORPG will remain a mystery.