Genshin Impact Dev received over $5.3 million in damages for leaks and cheating

Genshin Impact developer miHoYo has revealed that it received over $5.3 million in legal compensation for multiple lawsuits against leaks, cheating, counterfeit goods and more in 2025. As one of the most popular gacha titles of recent years, Genshin Impact has been no stranger to dealing with illegal distribution of content. As a consequence, miHoYo has continuously fought against these activities, sometimes resulting in massive damages.

Chinese developer miHoYo, also known as HoYoverse, is the studio behind some of today's most notable free-to-play gacha video games. While Genshin Impact is arguably its most famous work, miHoYo has launched tons of hit games, including Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zeroand Honkai: Impact 3rd. MiHoYo also confirmed that they plan to release Genshin Impact content for another decade at least. However, the popularity of the game has caused its developers to constantly face leaks and fraudulent actions, which sometimes affect the players' experience. Recently, miHoYo revealed how it has successfully dealt with users threatening its IP addresses over the past year.

Genshin Impact developer MiHoYo won $5.3 million in damages for illegal content

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In a translated official WeChat post on March 8 by miHoYo's legal department, the company shared an overview of its 2025 annual intellectual property and rights protection report. The post reveals that miHoYo received over 37 million yuan (about $5.3 million) in legal compensation and settlements for infringement. The developer shared that legal action was taken against cases of leaks, cheating, illegal private servers, defamation, counterfeit goods and illegal account sales. According to miHoYo, 2,388 people were found responsible for their actions, of which 1,240 apologized. An online leaker was ordered to pay 550,000 yuan (about US$80,069) for sharing Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact leaks.

Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.

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More than 300 leakers were held accountable, and miHoYo even revealed some of their online identities to the public after they were convicted or ordered to pay restitution. The report also details that 109,242 links containing illegal content were removed and 988 infringing accounts were banned. The developer also helped the police with 22 criminal cases and the administrative authorities with 21 violations. MiHoYo stated that they received over 100,000 intrusion reports and tips from players, for which they expressed gratitude and assured their commitment to cracking down on illegal activities of this nature. The news comes shortly after former miHoYo employees were sentenced to prison for soliciting bribes from partner companies.

Over the years, miHoYo has been known for its rigid stance against sharing unreleased game content and cheating. In 2022, some Genshin Impact content creators were jailed for distributing and selling cheats. Users were also fined $50,000. More recently, in June 2025, a Honkai: Star Rail the player was sued for $150,000 by Cognosphere, miHoYo's publisher, for streaming unreleased games. It can be difficult for video game studios to track down leakers, but it seems miHoYo is set to double down on these methods.

MiHoYo has several plans to push its growth forward with titles such as Honkai: Nexus Anima, Petit Planetand Varsapura already underway. Meanwhile, the developer is also busy with Ufotables Genshin Impact anime, although there is still no release date for the project yet. Genshin Impact also recently teased Linnea, a new character set for release in the anticipated version 6.5 update. The patch is expected to launch in early April. Players can expect more information about the Luna VI update in the coming weeks. On the other hand, Genshin Impact fans can currently draw up to ten 5-star characters in the game's banners, including the new Anemo unit Varka.