Home News HoYoverse Sues Honkai Star Rail Leaker for $150,000 Over Castorice Character Leak

HoYoverse Sues Honkai Star Rail Leaker for $150,000 Over Castorice Character Leak

HoYoverse, the studio behind Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact, has filed a lawsuit against a player for leaking unreleased content from Honkai: Star Rail. According to recent court filings in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the developer is seeking $150,000 in damages. The defendant, identified as Alfredo Lopez, allegedly livestreamed a confidential early build of the game on Discord—revealing the five-star character Castorice before her official release. The stream reportedly reached an audience of over 12,000 viewers.

Why HoYoverse Is Pursuing This Case

The leaked character, Castorice, had been announced prior to the incident but was only officially introduced in Honkai: Star Rail‘s version 3.2 update on April 8, 2025. HoYoverse claims that Lopez used a pre-release version of the game, violating their copyrights by publicly displaying, reproducing, and distributing unreleased content. The company stated in court documents that this broadcast not only breached confidentiality but also interfered with their ability to manage public engagement and marketing efforts tied to new character releases.

HoYoverse emphasized that the build used in the stream was never intended for public access. Such content is typically available only to select testers or reviewers under strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Lopez’s actions, they argue, constitute a clear violation of those terms, even if the character’s name was already public knowledge.

MiHoYo has initiated over 500 legal cases iirc. They even have precedent setting cases in China that have led to certain game content leaks being labelled as a violation of trade secrets.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) June 16, 2025

A Pattern of Legal Crackdowns on Leaks

This isn’t the first time HoYoverse has pursued legal action against leakers. In September 2024, the company successfully subpoenaed social media platforms like Twitter (now X) and Discord to uncover the identities of users behind multiple Genshin Impact leaks. Despite resistance from privacy advocates, a judge sided with HoYoverse, leading to the suspension of several well-known leak accounts.

Game industry analyst Daniel Ahmad noted that HoYoverse has filed more than 500 legal actions related to content leaks over the years. In China, the company has even helped set legal precedent by classifying the unauthorized release of game content as a violation of trade secret laws. The Castorice case underscores just how seriously HoYoverse treats this issue—and how determined they are to deter future leaks.

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castorice honkai star rail honkai star rail leakers Hoyoverse hoyoverse leaks hsr leaks

Sai T.

Sai is a social media manager and senior web content creator who spends his days juggling game research, deadlines, and the usual existential crisis. When he isn’t crafting content that hopefully goes viral, he’s a dedicated single parent doing his best to navigate work life balance. And in the rare moments when free time actually appears, he’s usually found with his two dogs, who are fully convinced they’re the ones in charge.