Genshin Impact is running Version 7.1, "Requiem to the Underworld," which launched September 23 with an Archon Quest in Snezhnaya, new 5-star characters Vesna and Vodzhanyitsa, and a fight against Ronova. The game is in its Snezhnaya arc, following the Version 7.0 update that opened the seventh nation and added a third-person shooter mode.
The last several months of Genshin Impact coverage center on one stretch of the game's story: the move into Snezhnaya. Version 7.0, which HoYoverse dated to August 12 at the end of July, opened the seventh and final nation of Teyvat and introduced Odette (voiced by Sumire Uesaka) and Alyosha (voiced by Gen Sato). The update brought a full third-person shooter mode and terrain tools, including the Eye of the Grayai device, plus the Star Diffusion reaction and the Dark Domain, where players use Cryo and Electro rifles and a grenade launcher. Odette and Alyosha were first shown during the July 31 special program, which also announced that nine more characters, among them Navia, Xianyun, and Clorinde, would join the Path of Refinement system.
The Snezhnaya arc changed how the Fatui read. The 7.0 update put players in the Fatui headquarters and recast the organization as hardworking and kind, with the Harbingers moving from antagonists to figures players warm to. The column coverage framed 7.0 as the first step toward concluding the current main storyline. HoYoverse also said in July that 7.0 would improve visuals for new characters and background textures while leaving most PC, iOS, and console specs unchanged, with Android minimum and recommended specs staying the same, though some GPU architectures may run unstably. PS4 support had ended in April 2026.
Mid-June brought the Luna VIII update on July 1, which added the Fatui Harbinger Sandrone as a playable 5-star Cryo character, a Citlali rerun, new outfits for Citlali (sold in the in-game shop) and Charlotte (a free reward from the Spirit Shadow Festival event), a spaceship for aerial exploration, and a map floor display. That update ran on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.
Version 7.1 followed on September 23. "Requiem to the Underworld" adds an Archon Quest where the Traveler meets Her Majesty the Empress, the Ronova fight, and the new 5-star characters Vesna and Vodzhanyitsa. HoYoverse announced it on September 12, the same day as the preview program that featured Kanae Ito (Vozhanitsa), Sumire Uesaka (Odet), and Aoi Koga (Paimon). The preview listed the game on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS, and Android. The game's merchandise line continues: Kadokawa published Illustration Collection Vol.3 on September 11, and APEX opened preorders in September for Nahida and Kinich figures.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/genshin-impact.
CC BY 4.0.
When a claim about Genshin Impact was confirmed, debunked, or disputed against open-web sources. The record stays even after a claim drops off the facts list.
APEX is taking preorders at AmiAmi for two Genshin Impact figures. Nahida gets a 1/7 scale White Grass Purification Ver., roughly 28.6cm tall with a first-run Akasha Terminal bonus, listed at 32,470 yen for a December 2027 release. Kinich joins the Yuuya Kisotan Series in deformed design at about 10.6cm, listed at 8,310 yen for an August 2027 release. Both include colored paper.
KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO's ASU and Wabami will sing "1314," an image song for Genshin Impact characters Sandrone and Columbina. The song is revealed during HoYoFair 2026 "Project: Nord Express," streaming on the night of September 20, after which the official movie premieres on ASU's YouTube channel. 4na wrote the lyrics and composed the track with Tasuku Maeda, who also arranged it.
Voice Kit, the agency of voice actress Sumire Uesaka, says threatening emails were sent to the agency, including claims of kidnapping and killing her with multiple people by Sep 27 and claims the sender knows her address. The agency filed a report with the jurisdictional police station and requested an investigation, and is consulting event organizers about her appearances scheduled through Sept 27.
HoYoverse announced on September 12, 2026 that Genshin Impact Version 7.1, "Requiem to the Underworld," releases September 23. The update adds an Archon Quest in Snezhnaya where the Traveler meets Her Majesty the Empress, plus a fight against Ronova, the Ruler of Death. New 5-star characters Vesna and Vodzhanyitsa join.
Kadokawa Game Linkage published Genshin Impact Illustration Collection Vol.3 on September 11, priced at 3,520 yen including tax. The 216-page, all-color book collects over 160 illustrations, among them character standing art, official promotional images, birthday celebration art, and cutscene material, plus three bound-in posters. The ebten DX Pack bundles the same book with Venti, Zhongli, Raiden, and Nahida magnetic bookmarks and a sticky note pad for 6,270 yen.
HoYoverse announced the Ver.7.1 "Requiem of the Underworld" preview program for Genshin Impact, airing September 12 at 21:00. Kanae Ito (Vozhanitsa), Sumire Uesaka (Odet), and Aoi Koga (Paimon) will appear and introduce the latest information. The program thumbnail depicts characters expected to appear in the story. The game runs on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS, and Android.
Inside's Comiket 108 cosplay feature spotlights nine cosplayers at the Tokyo Big Sight event held August 15-16, 2026. Corporate booth cosplayers include tako as Genshin Impact's Alice, Qianyang as Odette, and Xiao Bao littleky as Niko. General participants include Tsukune Tsukimi as Rin Tohsaka from the Honkai: Star Rail x Fate/stay night collaboration, Bunny Tu Tu as Azur Lane's Shinano, and Hitomi Kadorin as Princess Connect! Re:Dive's Pecorine.
The Ver.7.0 update, A Snowy Land Unloved by the Gods, takes players to Snezhnaya and the Fatui headquarters. The once-hostile organization shows a softer side: hardworking, kind, and full of unexpected gaps. The article traces how the Fatui Harbingers evolved from unscrupulous antagonists to beloved figures.
This week's mobile games column leads with Genshin Impact's 7.0 update, Everwinter Without Mercy, arriving August 12th. The update opens the frozen nation of Snezhnaya, adds Cryo-based elemental reactions, a third-person shooter mode via tech-goggles, and introduces characters Odette and Alyosha. The column also explains why many live-service games schedule events for mid-to-late August.
Wonder Festival 2026 Summer, held July 26 at Makuhari Messe, featured a large HoYoverse presence. Inside's roundup showcases figures from Zenless Zone Zero, Honkai: Star Rail, and Genshin Impact, including a swimsuit Zhu Yuan, a Saber figure from the Star Rail x Fate collaboration, and Raiden Shogun.
HoYoverse's Genshin Impact Ver.7.0 update, Snow Country Unloved by the Gods, arrives August 12. It opens Snezhnaya, the seventh nation, introduces characters Odette and Alyosha, and adds a full third-person shooter mode plus environmental tools. A play report details the new region's cities, trains, and the Eye of the Grayai device.
During the Genshin Impact Version 7.0 "Snowy Land Unloved by the Gods" special program broadcast on July 31, the performance details for two new characters were revealed. Odette, voiced by Sumire Uesaka, and Alyosha, voiced by Gen Sato, were both introduced with their abilities showcased during the stream. The broadcast also announced that nine additional characters, including Navia, Xianyun, and Clorinde, will become selectable in the "Path of Refinement" feature starting with Version 7.0. This update expands the roster of playable characters available through this system, which allows players to choose specific characters to add to their party. The special program served as the primary platform for these announcements, with images captured directly from the broadcast. The new characters and the expanded selection are part of the upcoming version update, which is themed around a snowy region. Further details about the characters' specific skills and the full list of selectable characters were not disclosed in the initial announcements, but the broadcast provided a first look at what players can expect.
HoYoverse announced on July 31, 2026, that Genshin Impact Ver.7.0 "A Snowy Land Unloved by the Gods" will release on August 12. The update adds Snezhnaya, the seventh and final nation of Teyvat, ruled by the Cryo Archon Anastasia Fyodorovna Snezhnaya. With this release, all seven nations of Teyvat will be complete, six years after the game's initial launch in September 2020. The region was previously partially introduced through Nod-Krai in the "Luna I" update on September 10, 2025. Ver.7.0 includes Archon Quests Chapter VII: Act I "The Snow Country Unloved by the Gods" and Act II "Nocturne of the Dead Soul," which continue the story involving the core settings of Teyvat. New gameplay features include the multi-functional tool "Glaiya's Eye," third-person shooting using "True Ice Creations," and the "Star Diffusion" reaction. In the Dark Domain, an area shrouded in darkness, players will use guns such as a Cryo rifle, an Electro rifle, and a grenade launcher. New playable characters Odette and Alyosha were also revealed, with Odette increasing team damage through Star reactions and Alyosha providing a Star Conduction damage increase and HP restoration. A special program "Teyvat Talk!! Just Before Entering Snezhnaya" will air on August 11.
BilibiliWorld 2026, the three-day ACGN event hosted by Bilibili, concluded on July 12 at the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center. The event attracted 400,000 visitors from over 30 countries and regions, with 170 exhibitors participating. For the first time, BilibiliWorld sold tickets to overseas users, drawing fans from the United States, Russia, South Korea, Italy, and elsewhere. The venue featured approximately 1,000 itasha cars and over 60,000 cosplayers. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige attended, marking his first visit to China in seven years. He unveiled the concept poster for Avengers: Doomsday and discussed Robert Downey Jr.'s role as the villain. Other exhibitors included Arknights, Genshin Impact, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The event also had a significant economic impact: overseas flight bookings to Shanghai rose 35% year-on-year, hotel reservations in Shanghai increased 126% month-on-month, and hotel bookings within 5 km of the venue surged 600% month-on-month. Cambodian Princess Norodom Jenna also visited the event.
Pre-orders have opened for the limited edition of Genshin Impact Illustration Collection Vol. 3, available exclusively through Kadokawa's ebten store. The ebtenDX Pack includes the Japanese translation edition of the book, a set of four magnet bookmarks, and a sticky note pad. The collection features over 160 illustrations across 206 pages. Release is set for September 11, 2026, priced at 6,270 yen.
HoYoverse announced on July 9 that Genshin Impact's Ver.7.0 update will deliver improved visual quality for new characters and background textures. The company stated that the majority of required specifications for PC, iOS, and console will remain unchanged. For Android devices, the minimum and recommended specs stay the same, but some devices with specific GPU architectures may experience unstable performance. The update follows the end of PS4 support in April 2026. Genshin Impact is approaching its sixth anniversary, and HoYoverse emphasized a continued focus on optimizing device performance alongside graphical enhancements. The Ver.7.0 update is expected to launch later this year, with details on the seventh nation Snezhnaya also being revealed.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted on July 1 that Steam's 30% base commission deters major free-to-play titles like Genshin Impact from launching there. He argued lower fees would attract those companies and increase Steam's revenue. Critics pointed to Epic's own layoffs and noted that many such games already exist on Steam.
HoYoverse announced new outfits for Citlali and Charlotte in the Luna VIII update of Genshin Impact, set for release on July 1, 2026. Citlali's outfit, "Star and Smoke Night Talk," shows her in casual pajamas, while Charlotte's outfit, "Harlock Variation," is a detective-style look. Citlali's outfit will be sold in the in-game shop, and Charlotte's outfit will be a free reward from the new "Spirit Shadow Festival" event, where players can also obtain the 4-star character Charlotte herself. The Luna VIII update, titled "Return to Summer! Shadows? Spirit Festival!," also introduces the Fatui Harbinger Sandrone as a playable 5-star Cryo character, alongside a rerun for Citlali. New gameplay features include a spaceship for aerial exploration across Teyvat and a floor display function for maps. The update will be available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.
HoYoverse announced on June 16 that it will stream the "Genshin Impact Luna VIII Preview Program" on June 18 at 21:00 JST. The program will feature voice actors Mariko Honda, who voices Sandrone, and Lynn, who voices Columbina, as guests. The announcement thumbnail shows Sandrone and Columbina against a background that appears to be Fontaine, and also previews new costumes for the characters Charlotte and Citlali. The broadcast will air on Thursday, a departure from the usual Friday schedule for these preview programs. The Luna VIII update is the next major version before a significant update, and past previews before major updates have introduced limited-time maps such as the Golden Apple Archipelago and Veluriyam Mirage, as well as new costumes. The program will be streamed on the official Genshin Impact YouTube channel and official X account. Genshin Impact is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS, and Android as a free-to-play title with in-app purchases.
Myethos has opened pre-orders for a chibi figure of Genshin Impact's Durin in her Flower Language and Travel Diary Ver. The figure, priced at 8,210 yen at AmiAmi, stands 125mm tall and includes a dedicated base and a bonus art board. It is scheduled for release in April 2027.
Good Smile Company is re-releasing the Nendoroid figure of Genshin Impact's bard Venti. The 100mm plastic painted movable figure includes three face parts, the lyre Fleur de Lys, and Skyward Wings. Pre-orders are open on Amazon Japan at 7,181 yen, with a release scheduled for January 31, 2027.
SpiceSmart's May 2026 mobile game commentary YouTuber ranking shows Genshin Impact at first place for the second consecutive month, driven by version updates and early access content. Nine of the top ten titles from April also appear in May, indicating stability. Dragon Quest Smash Glow enters the top 20, and Wuthering Waves returns to the chart.
Kentucky Fried Chicken and Genshin Impact are holding a limited collaboration from June 10 to June 30, 2026. Pre-orders for two limited-design dinner boxes featuring Alhaitham and Kaveh began June 3. Each pack includes in-game items, and a lottery offers tapestries and autographed color boards from the characters' voice actors.