Honkai: Star Rail publisher sues player for streaming a new character on Discord before its official release

Chinese game company Cognosphere is known for four things: Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero, and its aggressive pursuit of anyone who doesn't toe the line on its announcement and release schedules. In the latest example of how much it really, really does not like leakers, the company is now suing a guy who streamed Honkai: Star Rail gameplay on Discord that included a look at a new character who hadn't been released to the public.

The lawsuit, first reported by Game File, takes pains to note the importance of Cognosphere's update and release schedules.

"Preserving a single release date and the timing for Plaintiff's marketing campaign is extremely important, because many consumers have waited months to access and play the updated game, and are excited to be among the first to play the game in the latest official version," the complaint states. "If the content in the update is made available to some consumers before the commencement of Plaintiff’s marketing campaign and/or the release date, then consumers who have waited may have the game 'spoiled' for them.

"Additionally, when people who have unfairly or unlawfully obtained a game update before its release date post videos, images, or engage in online chatter about their experience with the game, this dampens the excitement and anticipation that many players feel when they obtain the update legitimately upon its official release, which further harms the user experience that the Plaintiff strives to protect."

That may be a little overwrought, but the actual legal complaint here isn't "spoilers!" but the more prosaic, courtroom-friendly copyright infringement: That defendant Alfredo Lopez, using the handle !Exciter98, violated Cognosphere's "exclusive rights of reproduction, public display, adaptation, and/or public performance under the Copyright Act" by blasting the unreleased material—specifically the character Castorice, who had already been revealed at the 2024 Game Awards—all over Discord without permission or authorization.

The lawsuit doesn't say anything about how Lopez got hold of the leaked material in the first place—whether he was a tester, a hacker, someone supplied it to him, or something else—but that doesn't seem especially relevant anyway: By going after individual streamers with copyright infringement suits, Cognosphere is effectively saying that it may not be able to stop leaks, but it can make life miserable for anyone who shares them.

And it's seemingly not shy about doing so: Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, director of research and insights at Niko Partners, said on X that Cognosphere (referred to by its better-known name MiHoYo) "has initiated over 500 legal cases," including some in China "that have led to certain game content leaks being labelled as a violation of trade secrets."

Cognosphere is seeking "actual damages and Defendant's profits for copyright infringement," but perhaps because Lopez presumably didn't make any money with his Discord stream, is also asking for an alternative, at its discretion, of maximum statutory damages of $150,000.