There is no doubt that players have heard of the game “Genshin Impact,” developed by miHoYo company. It was the top game on both Apple and Google platforms in 2020, indicating the game’s popularity. However, some unscrupulous individuals have devised a way to profit from the game by creating “hacks.” Unfortunately, they have “lost both the woman and the battle.”
Recently, the Shanghai Xuhui Court heard a case of this nature. In June 2021, Shanghai Xuhui Public Security Bureau successfully cracked down on a case of making and selling hacks for the game “Genshin Impact.” Three suspects were apprehended, and the total涉案amount was approximately 2 million RMB. After the trial, the three defendants were sentenced to six to four years in prison.
The court’s judgment book shows that from October 2020 to May 2021, the defendant Zhou, together with Sun Si, contacted Yao Bing to obtain data related to “Genshin Impact” to develop and create the “KQ” hack program for the game.
Through judicial appraisal, it was found that from October 2020 to May 2021, the defendants sold a total of over 40,000 hack cards, with a total amount of approximately 2 million RMB.
The illegal “KQ hack” seriously disrupted the game’s fairness and interfered with the gaming experience of ordinary users. It also caused significant economic losses to the game itself, with a huge negative impact.
Following the report by miHoYo, the Xuhui Public Security Bureau immediately launched an investigation, successfully identifying the suspects and gathering substantial evidence for their arrest.
In August 2021, the Shanghai Xuhui District People’s Procuratorate filed a criminal lawsuit against the suspects, charging them with the crime of providing illegal control of computer information systems programs, and the case was accepted and publicly tried by the Shanghai Xuhui District People’s Court.
The procuratorial authority recognized that the defendants had collaborated to create and sell programs that could intrude and control computer systems with the aim of gaining illegal profits. Their actions violated Article 285 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, which deals with the crime of providing illegal control of computer information systems programs. As such, they should be held criminally responsible for their joint criminal actions.
After the trial, the court ruled that the prosecution’s charges were correct. All three defendants admitted to their guilt and had returned the proceeds. Ultimately, the court sentenced the main defendant Zhou to four years in prison and a fine of 50,000 RMB; the main defendant Sun Si to three and a half years in prison and a fine of 50,000 RMB; and the accomplice Yao Bing to one year and six months in prison and a fine of 10,000 RMB.
In recent years, as the domestic online gaming industry has rapidly developed, so has the black market of “hacks” and “pirated servers.” In June 2020, the National Copyright Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the National Internet Information Office launched the “Sword Net 2020” special operation. Regulatory authorities have continued to crack down on the “hacks” and “pirated servers” of the gaming industry.
Over the years, multiple similar “hack” cases have been successfully cracked. For example, in August 2020, the Gaoyou Public Security Bureau cracked a major “hack” case, dismantling four game hack operation groups and arresting 22 suspects. In March 2021, the Suzhou Kunshan Public Security Bureau cracked a global “hack” case, with suspects遍布全球, operating in both domestic and international games. In December 2021, the Taixing Public Security Bureau of the Taizhou Public Security Bureau in Jiangsu Province cracked a case involving the infringement of game copyright, arresting four suspects and dismantling a black game industry profit chain that operated by building game “pirated servers.”
These unscrupulous individuals often face severe criminal penalties. According to multiple judgments published on the Chinese Legal Network, the production and sale of “hacks” and “pirated servers