Summary
HoYoverse’s CEO Liu Wei commented onGenshin Impact’s early accusations of plagiarism during a speech at Genshin Impact FES 2023, confirming the struggles the game’s team faced. Since the launch of HoYoverse’s open-world RPG in 2020, the game has grown into one of the most popular titles in gaming with tens of millions of active players. The RPG’s most populargacha banners often earn more than $10 millionUSD in China alone with each new character release. Now, a recent speech from HoYoverse’s CEO has reminded players of the difficulties the developer experienced early in the game’s life.
WhileGenshin Impacthas achieved widespread popularity within the gaming community, the RPG’s pre-launch would be marred by criticisms early on. Many would criticizeGenshin Impactduring its early life by referring to the mobile RPG as a clone ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The RPG would see many comparisons to the prolificZeldagame in the days leading up to its launch, with some unhappy fans even destroying consoles in protest. Now, HoYoverse’s CEO has addressed the struggles theGenshin Impactteam would experience related to these accusations.
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During a speech at the ShanghaiGenshin ImpactFES 2023, HoYoverse CEO Liu Wei, also referred to as Dawei by fans, spoke about the difficult creation process forGenshin Impact. According to Dawei,Genshin Impact’s production began as early as 2017 with the developer not having its own in-house development engine. Dawei would share instances of “employees crying” and lamenting the harsh criticisms towards the in-development RPG multiple times. The CEO would reportedlyuse Liyue as a driving motivation, encouraging the team to “make the part ofGenshin Impacteveryone didn’t see.”
While the team reportedly saw significant mental strife duringGenshin Impact’s development, the struggles appear to have paid off for the studio.Genshin Impacthas quickly become one of the most popular online games, winning several accolades includingthe “Player’s Voice” Award at the 2022 Game Awards. HoYoverse would also later translate itsGenshin Impactsuccess into another high-profile release, withHonkai: Star Raillaunching earlier this year to massive success.
Dawei’s revelations aboutGenshin Impact’s troubled development come as the RPG is on the cusp of its biggest update of the year.Genshin Impactwill officially launch its fifth major playable region of Fontaine later this week, bringing new mechanics like diving and underwater combat. The update will also introduce three new members to the RPG’s roster with Lyney, Lynette, andFreminet as the first playable Fontaine characters.Genshin Impact’s triumphs have clearly been built on the struggles the development team has faced and have set HoYoverse up for a successful future.
Genshin Impactis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and mobile devices. A Switch version is in development.
