“Genshin Impact” developer MiHoYo recently confirmed through an official statement that four former employees have been sentenced to prison by the court for accepting bribes and abusing their power. This case came from the company’s internal investigation and was officially announced on WeChat on February 6! According to official disclosures, these four former employees used their authority to solicit bribes from cooperative manufacturers during their employment and obtained illegal benefits from them!
According to MiHoYo’s report, the former supply and service team members Kang, Xu and Xu were sentenced to 1 year and 4 months to 1 year and 3 months in prison for soliciting commissions and kickbacks from partners; Cao, the former peripheral project operation team, received bribes from suppliers and was sentenced to 6 months in prison. In addition, Zhang Moumou, the former “Genshin Impact” product marketing team, set up a company outside to seek profits, which seriously violated the conflict of interest system. He was dismissed and included in the industry anti-fraud alliance blacklist, and relevant clues have been handed over to the public security organs.
One of them was sentenced to one year and four months in prison, two were each sentenced to one year and three months, and the last one was sentenced to six months in prison. MiHoYo also reiterated that the company adopts a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, misappropriation and improper interests, in order to maintain a fair business environment and corporate discipline.
A fifth person has been permanently banned
In addition to the four people who have been sentenced, officials also mentioned that another former marketing employee was also suspected of abusing his power to seek benefits for his own company. Relevant information has been handed over to the authorities for further investigation. The person was also included in the Anti-Fraud Alliance blacklist and was permanently banned from working in related industries again.
At the same time, miHoYo also disclosed a blacklist of partner companies involved in bribery, showing that the incident was not a single personal issue, but involved external business relationships.
Always tough on IP protection
In fact, this is not the first time miHoYo has taken action against violations. In the past, producers of cheating MODs related to “Genshin Impact” have been sentenced, and lawsuits have been filed against well-known whistleblowers and large Discord communities. Even in 2025, the “Honkai Impact” team filed a lawsuit against a player who leaked undisclosed character content, seeking $150,000.
The company has always had a very tough attitude towards data leakage, commercial fraud and internal violations. This time, sending former employees directly to jail is more like sending a signal to the entire industry.
The higher the popularity, the greater the risk
Since its launch in 2020, “Genshin Impact” has become one of miHoYo’s most representative works, with extremely high influence and commercial value. Because of this, there are more and more gray areas surrounding data, cooperation and market resources, and companies must continue to strengthen internal controls.
At present, the official is still continuing to investigate related cooperative companies and other potential issues. At the same time, it has once again reiterated that it will continue to protect its works and commercial interests from infringement.