On September 28, 2020, the global release of Genshin Impact took place — a large-scale open-world action RPG from the Chinese studio miHoYo, now known as HoYoverse. Today, the game celebrates its sixth anniversary, and its release became one of the most notable events in the history of modern mobile and cross-platform games.
At launch, players entered Teyvat — a fantasy world where seven elements exist. The main character became the Traveler, who, after being mysteriously separated from their brother or sister, sets out to find their sibling. The journey gradually introduces the player to different regions, characters, and the history of the world.
One of the main features of Genshin Impact from the very beginning was its open world. Players were not simply offered individual levels to complete, but large territories to explore, secrets to discover, side quests to complete, puzzles to solve, and environments to interact with.
At launch, Teyvat was still much smaller than it is today. However, the game's concept was based on gradually expanding the world through major updates. New regions, characters, storylines, bosses, and mechanics regularly expanded the game, turning it into a large-scale long-term adventure.
At the same time, even before release, miHoYo emphasized the complexity of creating such a project. The developers stated that work on Genshin Impact had begun approximately three and a half years before launch, and the team had to solve technical problems related to the large open world and fast-paced combat system.
Another important feature of Genshin Impact was its availability on several platforms from the very beginning. On September 28, 2020, the game was released on PC, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Android, and later received versions for new platforms.
For miHoYo, this was a particularly important step. Genshin Impact became the studio's first project released on PlayStation, and the team worked separately on adapting the game to the capabilities of the PS4.
This combination of a large open world, a mobile version, and a console release allowed the game to reach a very broad audience. In fact, Genshin Impact showed that a large-scale free-to-play open-world RPG could be built as a single cross-platform project.
Interest in the game was already evident before its release. By launch, the number of global pre-registrations had exceeded 10 million, after which the developers announced additional rewards for players.
After launch, Genshin Impact quickly began receiving new content. In November 2020, version 1.1 was released, becoming one of the first major additions to the game.
At the same time, the game received attention from the gaming community. In October 2020, Genshin Impact won the PlayStation Players' Choice vote for the best new game of September.
The subsequent history of Genshin Impact is essentially the story of Teyvat's gradual expansion. Over time, new regions were added to the original Mondstadt and Liyue, each with its own culture, music, characters, mechanics, and story conflicts.
The game gradually evolved from a story about searching for a missing sibling into a large-scale saga in which questions about the Traveler's origins, the mysteries of Teyvat, and its seven nations became central elements of the story.
The model of regular updates played an important role in this. New versions did not simply add individual characters — they continued the main story and expanded the world. For example, the 3.1 update, released on September 28, 2022, added new areas of Sumeru, the characters Cyno, Nilou, and Candace, new domains, weapons, and a continuation of the main storyline.
Over six years, Genshin Impact has gone from a new miHoYo project to one of the most recognizable cross-platform RPGs of its generation.
The game showed that the free-to-play model could be combined with a large open world, regular story updates, full music, character voice acting, and the constant development of a game universe. Even before launch, the developers described the project as a large-scale open-world adventure in which players could explore the world, discover new cities, gain elemental powers, and complete main and side quests.
Over the years, a large community of fans has formed around the game, while Teyvat itself has become one of the best-known virtual worlds in modern RPGs.
On September 28, 2026, Genshin Impact celebrates its sixth anniversary. During this time, the game has gone through numerous major updates, expanded its world, and transformed the Traveler's initial story into a much larger adventure.
Its journey began on September 28, 2020, with an unknown Teyvat, several regions, and a story about searching for a missing sibling. Six years later, this world has become much larger, while the Traveler's journey continues to remain a central part of the story.
Genshin Impact turns six — and this is no longer simply a release date, but six years of development of one of the largest open-world RPG projects of the latest generation.
As a reminder, Counter-Strike 2 — three years after its release: how Valve changed the legendary shooter.
