miHoYo Wins Final Ruling in Genshin Impact Leak Case, Tester Ordered to Pay $70K

This ruling matters less for its modest damages than for the precedent it sets: Chinese courts are treating pre-release game content as legally protected trade secrets, not just a contractual breach. That distinction gives publishers a stronger enforcement tool against leaks, which have long been a structural problem for live-service games whose revenue depends on surprise character and event rollouts. The affected parties extend beyond miHoYo to any studio using external testers, and to the leak channels and overseas recipients that monetize early information. Whether similar trade-secret claims become routine across the industry is the open question.