Three people arrested in China for leaking Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail spoilers

Shanghai police cracked a copyright infringement case involving leaked internal materials from miHoYo. Three suspects were detained on charges of illegally distributing confidential data from beta versions of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail. According to reports, this is the first case in China where criminal law has been applied to prosecute so-called "illegal spoilers".

It started in October last year, when officers from the white-collar crimes division paid a routine visit to the miHoYo office. That's when they noticed that large amounts of the company's nonpublic information had been circulating online – character data, in-game locations, and skill animations. Police treated it as a potential copyright violation and quickly put together a dedicated investigation team.

Investigators traced the leaked content back to the accounts that posted it, eventually identifying three individuals behind the material.

One of the suspects reportedly holds a PhD in mathematics and is known as a "tech god" in gaming circles. Unwilling to wait for official developer announcements, he decompiled beta test software to extract unreleased characters, scenes, and skill animations, then packaged the findings into videos and published them publicly.

After being charged, all three admitted they were enthusiasts who leaked content to drive traffic to their channels.

"We're just enthusiasts. We thought that if we deleted it after a platform warning, everything would be fine."