Genshin Impact, one of PlayStation’s biggest success stories, is no longer playable on the PS4.
With the release of the open world RPG’s ‘Luna VI’ update today, HoYoverse has concluded support for the game on Sony’s last-gen console. It telegraphed this long in advance, as far back as 10th September last year, so fans have had ample opportunity to transition to a new platform.
As the game saves all of its data server side, all of your progress will persist on the PS5 or another platform, as long as you’re using the same account.
Many of you may recall the game causing a stir due to its surface similarities to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when it was first announced. Infamously, one convention goer smashed up their PlayStation in protest.
But those who’ve played it will know it’s a very different experience to Nintendo’s sandbox, delivering a deep narrative and complex, elemental-based combat system.
The game launched on the PS4 in September 2020 during the height of the pandemic, and instantly captured the attention of millions of players worldwide. Few had seen a free-to-play single player game with these kinds of production values before.
It would ultimately change the expectations for gacha games forever, paving the way for a slew of copycats, including the likes of Wuthering Waves and this month’s NTE: Neverness to Everness.
HoYoverse has also emerged as a force to be reckoned with, releasing turn-based RPG Honkai: Star Rail and urban action game Zenless Zone Zero on the back of Genshin Impact.
The game has obviously outgrown the PS4 at this point, and the focus on more modern hardware is surely going to benefit where the dev is able to take the experience in the future.
Personally, we’d like to see it invest all of its technological resources into a simple skip button, because it’s been six years now and we still don’t have one in Genshin Impact…