Leaks are not new to Hoyoverse's main flagship Genshin Impact, and it has prevailed throughout the years since its debut in September 2020. Genshin Impact has been one of the most popular RPGs to date and continues to grow its player base as more content is released.
Genshin Impact has an impressive roster of different characters, and it even sets multiple records of sales with the release of new characters and updates. They sometimes break the old record with re-run characters. One of the most notable characters includes Raiden Shogun and the recently released Dendro Archon, Nahida.
However, with such success comes a group of leakers who are there to satisfy the needs of the players waiting during the content drought in-between patches. This is especially applicable to end-game players who have achieved everything there is to achieve in the game and are always looking forward to more story content and new characters.
Hoyoverse always does closed beta testing before the release of new characters, and of course, some testers tend to leak the content during their testing phase. Players usually look for these leaks in hopes of learning more about the characters so that they may plan ahead. Genshin Impact is a gacha game, and saving up primogems (in-game premium currency) is critical to get the characters when their banner releases.
When leakers release the information about new characters or even re-run banner information, players can better plan and save up their primogems accordingly.
Twitter has recently seen an increased number of Genshin Impact leakers that have fostered a large number of Genshin Impact fanbase following. But, it seems the recent "doomposting" of the upcoming character Dehya was the final straw for Hoyoverse.
Dehya is a new pyro claymore five-star character coming in patch 3.5, and a new four-star cryo polearm character called Mika. While Mika has received mostly positive reviews, the changes made to Dehya and how her kit has been administered have enraged the players waiting for Dehya since her first appearance in update 3.0.
Due to the negative feedback from many players, many who follow the meta have already decided and are not pulling for Dehya. Many players on social media have already decided to skip the entire first phase of update 3.5, where Dehya is scheduled to run alongside Cyno as the second five-star character banner.
The most recent and up-to-date leaks have been flooding in on Twitter, which has prompted Hoyoverse to take action against the leakers. The developers at Hoyoverse have filed a subpoena against Twitter, asking them to release the information of the three Twitter users responsible for leaking a lot of future content of Genshin Impact recently.
Stephen Totilo, the co-author at Axios Gaming, recently Tweeted the official subpoena clearly stating what identifying information Hoyoverse needs from Twitter.
In other video game legal drama, MiHoYo, makers of Genshin Impact, got a California court to subpoena Twitter to reveal the identities of people behind three Genshin Impact accounts that tweet leaks
Comments from MiHoYo and one of the leakers here: https://t.co/DWvrVaa8vx pic.twitter.com/fPFJdb47Bv
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) February 22, 2023
Hoyoverse has demanded identifying information such as names, phone numbers, IP addresses, or any other identifying information for XWides, Merlin Impact, and Genshin World. This is not the first time the three leakers have had a run-in with Hoyoverse. Hoyoverse previously had them remove leaked content, claiming it infringed developers' copyright for Genshin Impact.
The latest action from Hoyoverse is not only because of the recent Dehya leaks but one of the major contributing factors, including a massive leak that occurred just a few months ago. In the leak, a lot of planned content was leaked that showed new character designs planned for the game's next region, Fontaine. It also had a detailed roadmap up to update 4.0.
Fontaine will be the next region in Genshin Impact which will feature the Hydro Archon and follow the Traveler's journey through the supposedly France-inspired region. Fontaine is not expected until at least late Summer, so having critical leaks about the region this early will definitely be a cause of concern for the developers at Hoyoverse.
The subpoena might slow down the new leaks, but it certainly won't end it. Leakers will always find a way to leak information about the upcoming Genshin Impact content. However, for now, fans can rejoice as the new 3.5 update is just a day away, which is to bring the new characters, Dehya and Mika. The new patch will also include the return of the much-awaited Mondstadt's Windblume Festival and the new Archon Quest featuring Dainsleif.
