How Dangerous Is the Takedown of the *Genshin Impact* Account-Rental Ring Behind the Arrest of 10 People?

The warm light falls over the counter, and the shelves are neatly arranged, like the kind of little shop on a rainy night that makes you want to push open the door and linger. But when I think about this news story, what was really placed on the “shelves” was not props or merchandise, but batches of game accounts built up through illegal channels, and it makes the back of my neck tighten a little. For someone like me, who enters a game by first looking for the perfect spot and then taking in the scenery, an account should be the nameplate on the door to a world, not a product on an illicit industrial assembly line.

The key facts of this incident are actually quite stark. Recently, miHoYo assisted Shanghai’s Xuhui police in dismantling a gang involved in the illegal rental and sale of game accounts. Police arrested 10 criminal suspects, with the amount involved exceeding 2 million yuan, and the case touched multiple titles including Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero. During routine monitoring, miHoYo discovered that the e-commerce stores “青木鱼游戏专营店” and “鲨鱼网游专营店” were engaged in related activities, and then worked with the police to trace the chain all the way through.

What feels even more unsettling is the nature of the whole chain. According to the police investigation, the gang obtained more than 10,000 pieces of citizens’ personal information through illegal channels, then used them to register accounts in bulk, “leveled up” those accounts with cheats, and finally sold them on e-commerce platforms for profit. Those accounts that seem like “cheap shortcuts” are in fact trampling on personal information security and colliding with anti-addiction mechanisms; especially when accounts registered under adult identities are subleased to minors, restrictions on playtime and spending may both be bypassed.

Returning to the games themselves, many players usually aren’t very wary of account rentals. They see it as merely a way to save money or save time, and some even treat it as a one-time ticket to try out a new character. But the sources of these accounts are far from clean, and the risks do not end at a news headline: at best, you may face bans, account recovery, or transaction disputes; at worst, your personal information and payment security can be dragged into the mud as well. You may think you’re just borrowing an umbrella, only to find that the cloud above your head may have long been more than just a light drizzle.

At present, Xuhui police have already carried out coordinated operations in Jilin and Fujian in January 2026, completing a full-chain crackdown. Among them, 4 individuals, including Zhang and Fang, have been approved for arrest on suspicion of illegally obtaining data from computer information systems and infringing citizens’ personal information, while another 6 have been subjected to criminal compulsory measures in accordance with the law. miHoYo also stated that it has sent letters to nearly 20 game account trading platforms and e-commerce platforms, demanding that they stop providing account trading services for its games and remove related product links. It will continue to pursue accountability through special enforcement actions and civil channels.

Beyond the frame, however, this case also reminds the entire industry of a broader trend: account rental and sales are no longer just simple rule-breaking, but have long been tied to the black market for personal information, cheat-driven account farming, and the protection of minors. For ordinary players, there is really only one practical piece of advice—stay away from accounts of unknown origin, and especially do not buy “ready-made accounts” or “low-cost trial accounts” on e-commerce platforms just because they seem cheap. No matter how beautiful a game world may be, it should still be one you enter step by step on your own; only then can you stand in that scenery without unease, and turn back without worrying that the door might suddenly be locked.