HoYoverse Sues Castorise Leaker Over Discord Gameplay Stream

On June 6th, a major legal move was made by HoYoverse. They officially filed a lawsuit against Alfredo Lopez, better known online as Exciter98. He was caught streaming early gameplay of the unreleased character Castorise to more than 12,000 members on his Discord server. At the time of the stream, Castorise was still in the beta stage, meaning the gameplay was not meant for public viewing.

Because of this leak, Alfredo is now facing a huge fine—up to $150,000. HoYoverse explained that this wasn’t just about copyright infringement. The early leak took away from the excitement of players who had been looking forward to Castorise’s official launch. Many fans of the game had their first look at the character in an unauthorized way, and that has serious consequences for the developers who carefully plan these releases.

The case is ongoing, and HoYoverse is currently working with Discord to track down Alfredo’s location. Legal teams are involved, and more updates are likely to follow as the investigation continues.

This lawsuit sends a clear message to the community: leaking beta content—especially to a large audience—comes with real consequences. HoYoverse has always been strict with its NDA rules for testers, and this case might be the biggest example yet of what happens when those rules are broken.