Genshin Impact Event Plunged into Chaos: Shocking Bomb Threat Forces Sudden Cancellation
HoYoverse swiftly cancels anticipated real-life Genshin Impact event due to a disturbing bomb threat circulating on social media, ensuring the safety of attendees and prioritizing their well-being
Highlights
The South Korean event for Genshin Impact, a popular video game, had to be called off abruptly due to a bomb threat shared on social media, resulting in the evacuation of all participants as a precautionary measure. Although a thorough investigation determined the threat to be baseless, law enforcement agencies are actively working to locate and apprehend the individual responsible for initiating the alarming tweet.In addition to the game's recent issues with unpaid voice actors and other controversies surrounding its talent, Genshin Impact now faces another setback as HoYoverse has canceled a significant event in South Korea due to a bomb threat made on social media. This occurrence comes shortly after the release of the Genshin Impact 3.8 update.
The 2023 Genshin Impact Summer Festival commenced on July 20 at multiple locations within Seoul Olympic Park. Unlike its previous edition held at a single venue, the organizers decided to expand this year's event to two distinct locations to prevent overcrowding issues encountered in the past. The purpose of the convention was to commemorate the Genshin Impact 3.8 summer event and it was initially scheduled to span four days, concluding on July 23.
Unfortunately, on the third day, the event had to be abruptly terminated due to a bomb threat that was reported to local authorities via Twitter. The tweet, posted on July 22 by a now-suspended user named PingPingMon69, claimed that a pipe bomb had been planted at the indoor venue for the Genshin Impact event, situated within the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, also known as the KSPO Dome. Accompanying the tweet were purported images of the explosive device, with the author expressing anticipation for its detonation. As reported by Korean media outlet Globale, the terrorist attack threat was allegedly motivated by anti-Chinese sentiments.
According to Yonhap, the event was abruptly canceled after a tweet was posted, leading to the evacuation of approximately 200 attendees by police and firefighters. Despite an extensive search, no explosives were found at the venue in Seoul, confirming that the bomb threat was likely unfounded. The South Korean police are currently making efforts to identify the individual responsible for the alarming tweet. While the event organizers mentioned the possibility of resuming the event after the chaos, no official announcement has been made as of July 24.
The festival came to an abrupt end, further adding to the troubles faced by the hit RPG this month. In July, the voice actors of Genshin Impact made allegations of non-payment by HoYoverse, but it was later revealed that Studio Formosa, one of the companies handling voiceovers, was actually at fault. HoYoverse promptly took responsibility and promised to rectify the situation.
This incident marks the second controversial event involving the game's voice talent in 2023. The first controversy arose in February when Genshin Impact severed ties with Tighnari's voice actor due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
Genshin Impact is available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5, with a Switch port also being in development.
Source: Globale (Korean), Yonhap
