'Genshin Impact' Is Playable on Several Platforms — But Is It on the One You Need?

Among a growing catalogue of popular free-to-play games, Genshin Impact has grown into one of the most popular by far. The open-world RPG made a reported $60 million in pay-to-play services during the first week of its September 2020 release.

The game went on to become one of the highest-grossing mobile games of 2021, having amassed $3 billion worldwide. If you've been looking to see what all the hype is about, it's available on several platforms. But is it available on any Xbox systems?

Genshin Impact is an ongoing open-world RPG. Players assume control of the Traveler, an otherworldly human who gets separated from their sibling after they arrive in the world of Teyvat. Amassing a group of friends, the Traveler roams across the different nations of Teyvat in search of their sibling, harnessing the power of the elements to take down nefarious figures along the way.

You have plenty of options to try out the game, but is it on the system you're looking for?

Despite its detailed anime-inspired visuals, vast open world, and flashy in-game animations, Genshin Impact is playable on mobile platforms. You can download the game through Google Play or the App Store and check the game out on your phone or tablet. But there are certain pros and cons to playing on smaller devices. While it can be convenient to bring Genshin around with you on your phone, the immense graphical fidelity of the game can cause performance issues like lag and device overheating.

For anyone in the know, there are even plenty of memes that poke fun at the mobile experience of Genshin Impact, which can be a dealbreaker for some. Luckily, the game has plenty of options for beefier hardware. The game is also available on PC so you can play on your gaming laptop or powerful PC set-up. The game is also available on the PlayStation 4 and was made available for the PlayStation 5 in April 2021. Playing the game on bigger hardware lets you experience the game in full detail.

But if you want to play the game on the Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S, you're currently out of luck. Genshin Impact is not currently playable on any Xbox systems. According to a 2020 IGN Japan interview reported by ScreenRant, Genshin developer Mihoyo had no plans for an Xbox version for the foreseeable future. Two years later, there are still seemingly no plans for the game to make it onto Xbox any time soon.

Nintendo Switch owners can count themselves a little luckier, but only a little. A Switch version for the game was announced in January 2020. While the prospect of playing the game with your Joy-cons certainly sounds exciting, don't hold your breath for this one. Since the announcement, there has been no word on the development of the Switch version, let alone a release window.

Yet despite the radio silence for the Switch version, it's still a better deal than having no plans for a release on Xbox.