Genshin Impact Leaker ‘Ubatcha’ * TorrentFreak

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The role-playing game Genshin Impact was reported to have generated record $3.7 billion in sales in its first year alone. The game has a huge fan base, but when fans can’t wait for the next hot piece of news, they turn to Ubatcha, one of Genshin Impact’s most widely circulated and popular leaks. Information obtained by TorrentFreak reveals that Ubatcha is now facing legal action after a court ordered Discord to turn over their personal data.

Genshin Impact began development in 2017 and when it launched in 2020 using a free-to-play model, a $100 million development budget was at stake.

Few predicted the upcoming astronomical success. With 16 million monthly players during its launch in September 2020, there was no doubt that developer miHoYo had hit the jackpot.

Over the next twelve months alone, reports He noted that Genshin Impact’s gacha/loot box style game brought in a record $3.7 billion in revenue.

In August 2022, Genshin Impact served 63 million players, including hardcore fans who can’t get enough of the game and want to try out the content before the developers actually release it. With the art of patience lost and in short supply, dedicated teams of leakers make it their business to pitch new content early, backed by proof — most of it copyrighted.

Ubatcha – One of the Lakers’ most popular and widely produced shoes

Thanks to a seemingly endless series of high-profile leaks, Genshin Impact specialist Ubatcha has become wildly popular among the game’s massive fan base. Obacha Twitter account She has more than 465k followers and there is an official Reddit community of more than 351k members.

When we checked a few hours ago, Ubatcha’s “Wangsheng Funeral Parlor” Discord channel had more than 272,000 members and nearly 66,000 of them were online. By most standards, these are impressive numbers and a sign that Genshin Impact isn’t going anywhere and Ubatcha is giving fans what they want.

However, the problem is that Genshin Impact Cognosphere PTE Ltd publisher has a completely different idea of ​​what release schedules to stick to.

Content on discord pressed the wrong button

On or around July 16th, Obacha posted a tweet. It was later Deleted But, about a month ago, the Genshin Leaks subreddit received a DMCA takedown notice; First ever as advertised. But more to come.

In recent comments on social media, Ubatcha revealed that Discord had issued a warning about the leaks that were posted on the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor channel. Two other people have received similar warnings.

Complaints about the content, posted on another channel by Ubatcha and other leakers, led to the server shutting down completely. The channel owner’s account has been deleted.

It wasn’t immediately clear when these events occurred, but on the exact same day Ubatcha posted the original tweet in mid-July, the leaked content was also posted on Discord. The anti-piracy agents working for the Cognosphere were there to witness it, and after several months things started to escalate.

Cognosphere app for DMCA files

This week a Los Angeles law firm filed a DMCA subpoena in California District Court on behalf of the Genshin Impact Cognosphere publisher.

“Petitioner, Cognosphere Pte. Ltd. through the undersigned attorney of record hereby requests the clerk of this court to issue a subpoena to Discord, Inc. to determine the alleged infringers in the case, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) ), 17 USC § 512(h), “the application reads.

DMCA subpoenas require service providers like Discord to turn over information they have on alleged infringers, Ubatcha in this case. The Cognosphere law firm wants Discord to turn over Ubatcha’s name, address, phone number, and any email addresses connected to Discord Ubatcha account #2791.

Cognosphere has sent Discord a DMCA takedown notice

A DMCA subpoena can only be requested after the applicant has sent a DMCA takedown notice to the service provider requesting removal of the allegedly infringing content. The court order reveals that Cognosphere sent a takedown notice to Discord on November 29.

It requested removal of copyrighted images, videos, and various items related to Genshin Impact’s features, citing one item in particular: [3.0 Beta] Seeley’s new show “Moose”.

If Discord can’t remove the content, Cognosphere said the entire channel must be removed. Sample screenshots are of lower quality after being faxed but the main one is clear enough to recognize.

What happens next is known only to Discord, Cognosphere and their lawyers. The subpoena has been approved pursuant to the DMCA, so if Discord doesn’t already have it, it will be approved soon. It seems unlikely that Discord will put up a fight, so within days Ubatcha’s details will be handed over to the Cognosphere and/or its lawyers – if Ubatcha doesn’t take action to render them useless, of course.

No one can say for sure but given the size of Ubatcha’s fanbase, legal action in the form of a copyright lawsuit could backfire for Genshin Impact. However, the Cognosphere didn’t go through all these troubles for nothing. Stopping future leaks may be the priority, but the company may be interested in how the content was obtained, by what means, and perhaps crucially, by whom.

The DMCA subpoena can be found here (1,2, pdf)