Summary
Genshin Impactis currently being review-bombed in China, on top of suffering a massive loss of social media followers. Its ongoing difficulties appear to be related to HoYoverse’s recent livestream announcing theGenshin Impact4.4 Bannersand some additional events.
The fandom of the hit gacha game has never shied away from voicing its displeasure about content that it perceives as inadequate in any way. The RPG’s commemorative events were among the most frequent targets of fan backlash, with thethird-anniversary event drawing particular ire fromGenshin Impactfansback in September 2023.
The latest wave of such player activism was seemingly prompted by HoYoverse’s 4.4 broadcast, which saw the developer announce players would receive a mere trio ofGenshin ImpactIntertwined Fates—a type of premium currency used for rolling event Banner characters and weapons—as part of the upcoming Latern Rite festival event. In response to those lackluster rewards, the fandom swarmed the game’s BiliBili download page with 1-star reviews, in addition to unfollowing its official Douyin page en masse.
Genshin Impact Lost 600,000 Douyin Followers Overnight
As first noted by Twitter user GenshinUpdate, the RPG’s Douyin account went from having 9.3 million followers on January 21 to 8.7 million the following day, after the 4.4 broadcast. While this isn’t the first time that theGenshin Impactfandom criticized the annual Lantern Rite freebies, which are given away as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, it would appear that this year’s rewards are being perceived as particularly lackluster relative to the recentHonkai: Star Railpromos. As a reminder, HoYoverse’s newest game is currently giving away a 5-star character to anyone who logs in and completes its very first mission right now.
Even Brands Collaborating With Genshin Impact Are Feeling the Heat
The ongoing backlash has also affected the Chinese social media accounts of Heytea, KFC, and PizzaHut, among other frequentGenshin Impactpartners, which many disgruntled fans are now unfollowing, as originally noted by Twitter user hxg_diluc. Whether this wave of social media activism manages to elicit any changes from HoYoverse remains to be seen. But the chances of that happening are well within the realm of possibility. After all, the Chinese developer has a long track record ofbeefing upGenshin Impactevent rewards due to fan backlash.
Given that state of affairs, it’s not surprising that the fandom is once again happy to try employing similar tactics in the hopes of improving the game’s selection of seasonal freebies. The 2024 Lantern Rite festival event, called Vibrant Harriers Aloft in Spring Breeze, kicks off on January 31.
WHERE TO PLAY
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