Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based mobile RPG developed by miHoYo, the same company behind popular titles like Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 3rd. The game has achieved significant popularity since its release to mobile devices in April 2023, surpassing $1 billion in revenue by its first anniversary on April 26, 2024. Players are introduced to the game’s distinctive Sci-Fi world and tasked with assembling a team of playable characters for rounds of turn-based combat. It features a character-driven narrative enhanced by miHoYo’s signature art style and cinematic cutscenes. Honkai: Star Rail is free-to-play and profits from optional in-game purchases including cosmetics, characters, and its gacha system.
miHoYo released a cinematic trailer dubbed “Soloist” for Honkai: Star Rail on December 2. The trailer begins with an intense piano duet in a dark performance hall and reveals a 5-star character named Sunday. The pianos begin moving, prompting a violin bow battle from the onlookers. Sunday introduces himself as “Bronze Melodia” and proclaims that he will overcome the odds placed against him and build a “paradise” or die trying.
While the trailer was largely well received by fans, some viewers claimed that it contained striking similarities to trailer for a popular mobile RPG by NetEase Games called Onmyoji.
Onmyoji recorded over 200 million downloads in 2017 following its launch in 2016, and generated $104 million of revenue in 2022. Suffice to say, the game has a loyal player base. Many of these players found the similarities between Honkai: Star Rail’s trailer and the Onmyoji’s trailer suspicious, and the news has spread amongst the Honkai: Star Rail player base.
CN is discussing the similarities between the Sunday trailer and one of the CGs from Onmyoji (Gachagame). Coincidence?
byu/shahansha1998 inHonkaiStarRail
Onmyoji shared these suspicions on their official Weibo account, making a subtle dig at Honkai: Star Rail and alleging that the game might have illegally plagiarized their content. The makers replied to their own post hours later, confirming that their legal team was in the process of investigating potential intellectual property violation. They state that they are prepared to take legal action to defend their rights if necessary.
miHoYo has not yet released any official statement on the matter. Although NetEase’s investigation has yet to reveal any information, it appears likely that Onmyoji may take legal action against Honkai: Star Rail should it do so.