As its fourth anniversary approaches, Genshin Impact is finally launching on Xbox. HoYoverse’s flagship gashapon game was released in September 2020 for PC, mobile devices and PlayStation 4, with a PS5 port also set to hit in a few months. While there have been rumors that it will launch on other platforms soon, this is the first time there’s been anything close to official confirmation.
Spotted by Wario64 and shared on the prolific and trustworthy leaker’s Twitter account, an Xbox Store listing for Genshin Impact suddenly appeared, with the news later confirmed during the Gamescom 2024 opening night live. There’s no release date listed – the game currently claims it’s “not available for purchase individually” – but clicking through the listing for the Xbox pre-order bundle reveals some enlightening facts.
According to this page, Genshin Impact will be coming to current-gen Xbox on November 20 this year, and you can pre-order it now for £9.99. If you’re wondering why a free gacha game has a ten price tag, it looks like Microsoft will follow Sony’s usual lead and put the HoYoverse preload behind a paid bundle that includes some small in-game bonuses. We’ve already reported on this practice in the PlayStation 5 versions of Honkai Impact and Zenless Zone Zero, so while it’s still annoying, it’s not that surprising.
Paying to pre-order Genshin Impact on Xbox Series X/S will only net you two regular wishes, 150,000 Mora (the in-game currency), and a small amount of character and weapon XP materials. You’ll also receive 10 foods that can be consumed to temporarily increase your party’s stamina. This is roughly in line with HSR and ZZZ’s pre-order bundles, which again, let me assure you, are really not worth a dollar, what you’re really paying for is a four-year head start on pre-ordering the game over players on other platforms. At the end of the day, it’s your money, but be aware that this isn’t exactly an economical choice.
HoYoverse has expressed interest in bringing their other games to Xbox and Nintendo consoles for some time, and recently the producer of Zenless Zone Zero told us that his goal is to see his games launch on all platforms. However, this is the first time a HoYo game has broken out of the mobile/PC/PlayStation ecosystem that has been the studio’s signature triple threat since the launch of Genshin Impact. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if this marks the start of some major expansion for the company or if it’s just a long-awaited one-off expansion.
Genshin Impact will be released on Xbox Series X/S on November 20, 2024, and according to the Xbox Store listing, pre-loading appears to be available starting on the 18th. Note that despite initially releasing on PlayStation 4, it doesn’t appear to be coming to Xbox One.
