Highlights
- The Genshin Impact publisher recovered $5.38M in damages and settlements in 2025 through lawsuits targeting game leaks and cheats.
- HoYoverse filed 2,388 civil lawsuits, removed 109K infringing links, and suspended 988 accounts linked to such violations.
- The crackdown targeted leaks and cheat distribution affecting Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.
Chinese game publisher HoYoverse recovered more than ¥37 million yuan ($5.38 million USD) in damages and settlement fees in 2025 following the legal actions against leaks, cheats, and other unauthorized activities tied to its games. The company said it filed civil lawsuits against 2,388 individuals, while cooperating with police in 22 criminal investigations, all tied to taking part in leak distribution or cheat creation.
In total, HoYoverse reported receiving more than 100K community reports related to leak violations. Following the investigation, the company removed more than 109K infringing links, while suspending 988 accounts following the investigation. The publisher also apprehended 3,622 online shops for fraudulent transactions in gaming.
The enforcement campaign focused primarily on violations related to the company’s flagship live-service titles, including Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. According to the report, HoYoverse targeted individuals and organized groups responsible for distributing unreleased game information, operating private servers, and selling cheat software that bypasses the games’ security systems.
HoYoverse Expands IP Protection With Legal Actions
HoYoverse said its enforcement efforts in 2025 resulted in 1,240 public apologies from infringers, the removal of over 109K infringing online links, and the suspension of 988 accounts associated with cheating and leak distribution. Authorities also investigated 503 retailers involved in selling cheat tools and services tied to the company’s games.
In one prominent lawsuit, a cheat distributor known as Raindrop Studio was ordered by a court to pay roughly $380K in damages for selling proxy gameplay services using cheat tools. The continued investigations targeted sites such as HomDGCat Wiki. Three individuals involved with the site were arrested in February 2026 on charges of copyright infringement.
A blogger, with the handle name 韭菜XX, was asked to pay ¥11M ($1.59M) for leaking unreleased information about Honkai and Genshin Impact. Additionally, police arrested Mr. Xu, with the handle name Liu Ying XXX, for illegally profiting from leaks.
Law enforcement also dismantled larger criminal networks across China, connected to the illicit game economy. One operation in Yangzhou reportedly involved the illegal sale of game accounts and user data linked to more than 10M individuals, which resulted in 25 arrests.
HoYoverse operates some of the most lucrative live-service games on the international market, including one of the highest-grossing games in the industry, Genshin Impact. China’s gaming market is expanding steadily, and the HoYoverse case highlights the need for stronger action against cheats and leaks to sustain the growth
