Game Freak
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates
Template:Nihongo foot is a Japanese video game developer, best known as the primary developer and co-owners of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games.
History
Predating the video game company, Game Freak was a self-published video game magazine created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori in the 1980s. The first issue was published in 1983 by Tajiri.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Sugimori would join the magazine at a later date as an illustrator after finding the magazine in a shop and liking it.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tajiri also used "Game Freak" as his pen name when he wrote as a freelance writer to publications such as Family Computer Magazine and Famicom Tsūshin.<ref name=famimaga198901>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=famitsu198604>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
On April 26, 1989, Tajiri and Sugimori started a video game development company with the same name.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> One of Game Freak's first games was the Nintendo Entertainment System action and puzzle game Quinty, which was released in North America as Mendel Palace. Its most popular series, Pokémon—the romanized portmanteau of the Japanese brand Template:Nihongo<ref name=GTPokedex>Template:Cite web</ref>—is published and distributed respectively by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo worldwide.
In October 2015, Game Freak acquired Koa Games, a mobile development company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The company was subsequently merged into Game Freak on December 1, 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In May 2019, Game Freak director Masayuki Onoue revealed that Game Freak is increasingly prioritizing original game creation, in order to grow the experience of its staff.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The company's Gear Project initiative, which encourages creators to pitch original game ideas during quiet periods, has so far resulted in original games HarmoKnight, Pocket Card Jockey, Tembo the Badass Elephant and Giga Wrecker.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In February 2020, Game Freak relocated their headquarters to Kanda Square, an office building in Nishikichō shared with Nintendo's Tokyo branch.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In October 2024, nearly a terabyte of data from Game Freak's servers was stolen. Development builds, source code, and test sprites either planned or released for past Pokémon games were found, as well as code names for upcoming Pokémon games, and prototypes of unreleased remakes of Quinty and Yoshi.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shortly afterwards, Game Freak addressed the incident, stating that the leak was due to "unauthorized access to our servers by a third party", which had taken place in August 2024.<ref name=":0" /> They also stated that many employees' personal information had been leaked.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
Games
Notes
References
External links
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