A hacker managed to break into Capcom’s online account system and potentially steal email address data on 11.7 million user accounts.
The breach, reported today by the Japanese video game maker, affects Capcom ID, the online account system used for the company’s digital store and games, including the Street Fighter 6, Monster Hunter, and Resident Evil franchises.
The intrusion may have exposed email and IP addresses for 11.7 million accounts worldwide. Capcom also uncovered evidence that the hacker accessed the date of birth, gender, country/region, and nickname for 43 records. Another 196 accounts had their passwords changed.
(Credit: Capcom)
Capcom detected suspicious activity related to the hack on Monday, Oct. 19, prompting an investigation and, eventually, the enforcement of emergency measures to lock down its IT systems. The source of the breach remains unclear, but the company is warning affected users to watch out for phishing emails or messages that might pretend to come from Capcom.
“This incident does not affect players’ ability to access or play any of our games,” it says. Customers can still log in to their accounts, including the 196 users whose passwords were changed; Capcom has since reset the login credentials for these affected accounts.
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“Going forward, Capcom will notify customers affected by this incident. Credit card information was not included among the affected information,” the company adds.
This comes almost six years after a 2020 ransomware attack that involved data from up to 350,000 Capcom customers and business partners. The Ragnar Locker gang claimed responsibility for the attack; Europol later dismantled the group.
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Michael Kan
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Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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