Genshin Impact developer wins $112,000 case over AI voice cloning

Genshin Impact developer miHoYo has won $112,000 in case over AI cloning 63 character voices

Genshin Impact developer miHoYo has won a court case against an AI voice provider accused of reproducing and selling the voices of 63 characters without permission.

The Pudong New Area People’s Court in Shanghai ruled on September 10 that the undisclosed AI company must pay miHoYo 750,000 Chinese Yuan, approximately $112,000, according to Chinese outlet The Paper.

The service allowed users to replace their voices with those of Genshin Impact characters during conversations in real time.

miHoYo also alleged that the company used character artwork and animations in advertisements, placed modified Genshin Impact faces on avatars and allowed customers to preview character dialogue before purchasing the voice packs.

The AI provider argued that its models reflected material supplied by users and that rights to the voices belonged to the performers rather than miHoYo.

However, voiceprint analysis presented during the case found that the cloned voices displayed “nearly identical characteristics” to the original character voices. The defendant also admitted that its model had been trained using a stolen minute of character audio.

The court determined that Genshin Impact’s character designs were protected by copyright.

It also found that the characters’ distinctive voices functioned as a trademark developed through years of operation, meaning the company’s actions constituted unfair competition.

The AI provider was ordered to stop the activity immediately and pay the 750,000-yuan compensation.

The ruling comes amid wider concerns surrounding AI voice cloning in entertainment. Evangelion voice actor Megumi Ogata recently described AI voice cloning as “heartbreaking” and called for regulation in Japan.