Genshin Impact Developers Sue AI Company Over Voice Copying

Entrepreneurs who made money using someone else’s intellectual property have run into legal trouble.

Another lawsuit involving miHoYo (HoYoverse) has recently come to light. This time, lawyers for the creators of Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero set their sights not on insiders, but on the developers of an AI service.

The lawsuit was triggered by the unauthorized use of character voices from Genshin Impact. According to the filed complaint, the voices of 63 characters were illegally reproduced, allowing clients of the service to create custom voiceovers.

The service developers also used Genshin Impact character portraits to promote the model, employing the artwork as avatars for “voice packs.” Customers could listen to sample lines before making a purchase.

Initially, miHoYo’s lawyers demanded 5 million Chinese yuan in compensation, which is roughly $746,000.

Representatives of the service argued that the technology they use is based on third-party models and that the generated voices vary depending on user input. They also noted that the rights to the voices belong to the voice actors themselves, meaning those actors should be the ones defending those rights.

An analysis showed that the voices of the Genshin Impact characters and the output of the AI service exhibit “practically identical characteristics.” The defendant also admitted in court to using a voice from Genshin as training material for the model.

During the proceedings, the court determined that over the years Genshin Impact has been active, its character voices have become a distinctive identifier that allows consumers to recognize the game as the source. Using such voices can create the mistaken impression that the project is official and connected to miHoYo.

The court ordered the creators of the AI service to halt their unlawful activities, which include using the voices and materials from the game, and to pay the creators of Genshin Impact approximately $112,000.