Genshin Impact developer miHoYo has come under fire yet again. This is the second time in recent history that the company has been accused of copying an indie game.

Michael Kamm, the developer of indie puzzle game Ouros, took to the social media platform Bluesky to open up about the situation. Kamm claimed that miHoYo's Zenless Zone Zero copied the basic building blocks of his game.

In Ouros, you solve various puzzles by creating necessary patterns. You bend and stretch loops and circles to ensure that you complete the puzzle.

Kamm compared it to a clip of a character hacking a terminal in Zenless Zone Zero. To finish hacking it, you must play a mini-game with design elements, gameplay mechanics, and aesthetics that are strikingly similar to Ouros.

"Because MiHoYo is an established billion-dollar company, and Ouros isn't well known, I can see why people would assume that I copied them," said a disappointed Michael Kamm.

As mentioned earlier, this isn't the first time miHoYo has been accused of copying indie games.

In April 2026, indie game developer Pipapo Games claimed that Genshin Impact had copied their game, Map Map. This is yet another relaxing exploration game, just like Ouros.

Players pick a location on the map, and a giant icon drops wherever they decide to select. This is a part of the game's core game loop. An executive from Pipapo Games spoke to Polygon about the situation.

"While maps in video games are by far nothing new and taking inspiration from other games is a normal part of development, we were definitely surprised to see our entire core game loop represented in this Genshin Impact event," said the spokesperson.

Pipapo Games was taken aback by how similar the concept and visuals look to their game, Map Map.

Claims Against MiHoYo Can Be Difficult To Examine

There's always a chance that another developer created a similar concept while trying to remain original. This is the sort of coincidence that isn't entirely uncommon in any creative industry.

Ouros was released on May 22, 2024, for PC via Steam. miHoYo's Zenless Zone Zero, on the other hand, was launched on July 4 of the same year.

The same applies to miHoYo. Kamm claimed that his mechanic from Ouros was copied. But some gamers believe that even Ouros borrows the mechanics from Primo, a game released in 2023.

Kamm responded by pointing out that Primo looks like a copy of his own old puzzle, Splines 'n Shapes. The game was a free prototype he made in 2020 for the Ludum Dare game jam.

Kamm eventually expanded upon the prototype to form the foundation for Ouros. Overall, it's difficult to find the source of inspiration for game design.

As of the time of writing, miHoYo or its subsidiaries have not fully addressed the recent accusations.

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Written by

Prit Chauhan

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit