Genshin Impact fans react to latest patch leaks

The latest leaks, released Wednesday night, reveal information regarding the 3.0 patch. It will introduce Sumeru (a Dendro-inspired region) to the game. The patch is a ways out — it doesn’t have a release date yet, but the typical release schedule indicates that it could be around Aug. 24. Fans are reacting to new content leaks by pointing out that the developers whitewashed characters.

Genshin ImpactA strong community of leakers shares updates details before the rollout. Multiple accounts had leaked details about the new characters Yelan, and Kuki Shinobu before they were released. Numerous characters of the 3.0 patch were leaked with different credibility. One of these is a rendering of Kusanali the Dendro archon who acts as leader for the new region. This image was leaked to Twitter by Sagiri (a user on Twitter). said that it “is not the final version.”

Already, fans have criticized the images. Some believe that designers may be whitewashing characters from the region by using light-skinned models. Hoyoverse is yet to confirm Sumeru’s origins from any particular real-world location. The characters in Genshin ImpactIt has been described in-game by scholars as having both rainforests and deserts. Some fans speculate that the land could have its roots in South Asian and Middle Eastern cultures.

Fan have previously been criticized Genshin ImpactXinyan, Kaeya and Kaeya are the only ones with darker skin tones. Wednesday’s leak inspired similar concerns. One user responded to the Twitter leak by writing: “really…all my hopes for a brown milf are gone to a pale kid.”Some responses simply make fun of the designs while others include silly images, such as “a” screenshot of the The Beatles’ White Album.

Polygon reached to Hoyoverse in order to verify the authenticity of the leaks, and to get their opinion. We’ll update this article as soon as we have comments.

Fans have shared their drawings of characters with darker skin tones and some others responded.

This isn’t Genshin Impact fandom’s first brush with controversy. In 2021, fans started a hashtag called “#boycottgenshinimpact,” which prompted members of the community to criticize the company for allegedly using Indigenous people as models for the Hilichurl grunts.