Genshin Impact beta tester banned, fined $78k for breaking NDA

Genshin Impact has commenced its beta phase for the upcoming 2.5 update, which has caught the attention of the game's community. Testers who have access are not allowed to reveal anything before a said time; however, a footage from the 2.5 beta phase was leaked to the public, which saw the developer, miHoYo, taking action against the source of the leak.

The developer has found the source of the leak and enforced the appropriate penalty against the leak; the beta tester in question has spoken out on the matter. According to a statement issued, it appears they have lost more than many had thought.

Genshin Impact devs fined, banned beta leaker

A Genshin Impact beta tester was reportedly fined and banned by the game's developer, miHoYo, after footage from the 2.5 beta phase was leaked. The developer tracked down the specific tester because the leaked footage visibly contained the beta tester's account UID (Unique Identifier).

The story quickly developed as the beta tester issued a statement explaining their actions and role in the recent leak. They revealed that not only were they the source of the leak but had entrusted a friend with the footage, who ultimately published it without their knowledge.

The beta tester was issued a $78,000 fine from the developer and banned their account. However, for the beta tester, it was apparent that the fine was possibly the least of their worries.

Statement from a Beta tester whose footage got leaked by a friend they trusted; they got caught due to visible UID, banned and fined ~$78k USD. (May have been the recent Weekly Boss footage, but unconfirmed.)

Please be careful.

(Images + translation: https://t.co/bH2h4nDELi) pic.twitter.com/JWnaXYXfCW

— SaveYourPrimos 💎🙌 (225/225 = Benny's Mistsplttr) (@SaveYourPrimos) January 6, 2022

In a translated conversation posted by Genshin source, Save Your Primos, the beta tester was heartbroken over losing their account more as it contained a year's worth of work. The account included 30 5-star characters, Adventure Rank 58 and their treasured Keqing, which they had been building since the game's release.

With growing trends of datamined information and leaks commonplace in gaming, Genshin Impact is one of many games with dedicated communities, like Genshin_Impact_Leaks, around aggregating information. These communities sift through information from multiple sources, fact-checking before sharing with the general public.

In terms of the current 2.5 beta test, all participants must sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before starting. This agreement prevents players from leaking information to the general public, including game designs screenshots and gameplay footage.

Not all leaks can be viewed in a negative light as they help generate more interest and, potentially, new players to the game. It also helps push incoming characters, events, regions, and more, which allows the developer to be more transparent and engage with the community.

The developer has developed a trend of revealing new characters and regions before the beta to prevent them from being leaked, and it has faired well. The moral of this latest leak is not to share highly sensitive information with anyone, friends included.

• Read more: miHoYo confused Genshin Impact community over Diluc's "expressionless face" fix

Don't forget to check out our dedicated Genshin Impact section for the latest news, updates, guides, leaks and more.

Featured image courtesy of miHoYo and Shutterstock.