Genshin Impact developers MiHoYo are subpoenaing three Twitter accounts associated with the suspected leaking of information about their flagship title.
MiHoYo has issued a subpoena to Twitter to reveal the names and addresses of three accounts associated with the leaks according to newsletter Axios, specifically writer Stephen Totilo who provided an image of the subpoena in his own Twitter account.
A subpoena relates to a request for a person to stand as a witness or provide documents related to a court case. In this instance, MiHoYo are requesting the true names and information of the people behind these accounts, possibly in order to bring legal action against them.
Bringing down the gavel
Although MiHoYo can hardly be blamed for wanting to keep information around upcoming releases under wraps, taking legal steps may backfire in terms of P.R. Many people in the comments on Stephen Totilo’s Tweet have already expressed their distaste at the company taking these kinds of steps, and for many who view leaks as non-harmful speculation into the game’s future, it could be perceived to be disproportionate. However there may be some measure of legal recourse as if this information is being leaked from test builds thus breaking a tester’s confidentiality contract with the company.
This may not be the best course of action for MiHoYo however, as they’re already in a poor place publicity-wise as the company only recently sacked voice-actor Elliot Gindi over allegations of inappropriate conduct with fans.
MiHoYo is likely to be focusing far more on their lucrative but turbulent Chinese market, as the company recently reiterated its support for the promotion of cultural values, as both it and many other companies want to show their support for corporate social responsibility, a popular theme of Chinese regulations.
