Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is gearing up to launch some new heroes in its upcoming 1.2 Update, one of them being Albedo, a master alchemist.
The game has just debuted not a gameplay trailer for the hero, but instead an animated trailer showing Albedo and his relationship with Sucrose, as he instructs her about painting and alchemy.
It’s mostly just a funny little spot, and the animation is not…full, as it’s a bit like paper cut-outs moving around. But the Genshin community has embraced it, as they have other revelations about Albedo, like how he’s Klee’s adoptive brother.
One thing I have noticed about Genshin Impact is that people are not just into the game and gambling for characters. They are really, really into the characters themselves. With a ton of voicework for each character and the attachment you can build to them when they’re part of your team, there can be a real connection that forms, and we’re seeing that with Genshin pretty broadly.
Between that and animated shorts like this, I do wonder if an animated Genshin Impact series could be in the cards, either somewhere like Netflix, or on one of the many anime services that Sony now owns.
Genshin Impact is a massive, global hit and has amassed a massive stable of characters already that fans are identifying with. In short, it has effectively done in a few months what it took games like League of Legends years to do.
Genshin Impact
I don’t know why more games don’t go down this road. I previously suggested that both League of Legends and Overwatch could have animated series, bringing in all these different characters people love, and yet neither Riot nor Blizzard ever pursued that in any meaningful way. That was a mistake, and I think Genshin Impact would be making a similar mistake if they didn’t try to incorporate these characters into their own anime here. They are bringing in hundreds of millions, close to billions in revenue already. While yes, much of that should be reinvested in the game, they should try to expand the IP in meaningful ways, striking while the iron is hot. We’ve seen games successfully adapted into anime recently, Castlevania probably being the best example, and Genshin already has pretty solid voicework and writing as a base. There’s also the extra factor that miHoYo already did an anime with Honkai Impact, so the groundwork is laid in that department.
We’ll see if this happens or not, but I suppose I shouldn’t hold my breath after suggesting similar things for other games for years. But maybe miHoYo realizes the IP they’ve built and will take more full advantage than the others did.
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