Summary
WhenGenshin Impactwas first unveiled at ChinaJoy 2019, it drew a lot of attention from the gaming community worldwide, but not for the right reasons. At the time, the open-world action RPG from Chinese developer HoYoverse was criticized by many for its apparent similarities toThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildin terms of both art style and gameplay design, leading to some even labeling it as an outright ripoff. However, afterGenshin Impactcame out in September 2020, the discussions surrounding the game became increasingly positive.The title not only surpassed the expectations of many skeptical gamers upon its release, but it also became an immediate breakout hit worldwide.
ThoughGenshin Impactwas a worldwide phenomenon from the very start, it wasn’t available on every platform. When the title made its debut in 2020, it was a PlayStation console exclusive, since it was only released on Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows. However, during Gamescom 2024 earlier this week, HoYoverse announced thatGenshin Impactwould finally make the jump to Xbox Series X/Son Jul 07, 2025. Although it is disappointing that has taken so long for the game to hit the platform,Genshin’s release on Xbox consoles is still a huge deal nonetheless, as the title will fill a major gap in the library of games available within Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Genshin Impact Coming to Xbox Consoles is a Big Deal
Gacha Games Have Consistently Skipped Xbox in the Past
BesidesGenshin Impact, there are several otherpopular gacha gamesthat have come out over the last few years. 2021, for instance, saw the launch ofTower of Fantasy, a free-to-play open-world RPG that featured co-op support and MMO gameplay elements. Meanwhile, the turn-based sci-fi role-playing gameHonkai: Star Railwas released byHoYoverse in 2023. As for 2024, on the other hand, both the post-apocalyptic ARPGZenless Zone Zeroand the Kuro Games-developed open-world titleWuthering Waveshave launched this year so far.
Outside of the fact that they’re free-to-play and share similar gameplay elements, these aforementioned titles all have one major aspect in common: they’rePlayStation console exclusives. Even thoughTower of Fantasy,Honkai: Star Rail,Zenless Zone Zero, andWutheringWavesare live service games that can benefit greatly from being on as many platforms as possible, these titles have only been released or are scheduled to be released on PS5. Xbox and Nintendo Switch versions of the aforementioned gacha games are sadly nowhere in sight. This is likely the result of exclusivity contracts that publishers like HoYoverse and Perfect World Entertainment have signed with Sony.
Thanks toSony’s aggressive exclusivity push with Chinese developers, the gacha game genre on Xbox is virtually non-existent. This is a major issue for Microsoft’s platform, considering that many of these titles are some of the largest and most popular in the entire industry. At the very least, however, whenGenshin Impactdoes make its way to Xbox Series X/S later this year, it may mark a turning point for the future of Xbox and gacha games. If HoYoverse’s open-world RPG does find success on Xbox, then it may lead to more gacha games coming to Microsoft’s consoles in the near future, such asZenless Zone ZeroandHonkai: Star Rail. For the time being, though,Genshin Impactwill provide Xbox players with an experience that is currently hard to find on the platform.
