A HoYoverse developer goes on the record in the monthly edition of PLAY Magazine to discuss the difficult learning curve and the attempts to make Genshin Impact more welcoming for newcomers. Genshin Impact recently received the big 3.0 update which streamlined some aspects of the action RPG and may have been one of the first steps to appeal to a broader audience.
Having done many collaborations like with Pizza Hut and KFC already, HoYoverse is already expanding the Genshin Impact IP across multiple areas, but the developers are aware that the game can be "an issue" for fresh accounts. Similar to other live service games such as Destiny 2 and Apex Legends, Genshin Impact players are bombarded with loads of information in early games as they pick up new characters and items, and HoYoverse has hinted that changes are being worked on.
Just like with Genshin Impact 3.0, it seems like HoYoverse wants to continue to improve things for new players as it brings a ton of content for veteran ones to explore as well and the developer doubled down on this. Suggesting that HoYoverse is taking a multi-pronged approach to the patches, the Genshin Impact developer said "while we continue to produce more exciting content, we are also trying to ease the burden of returning players or new players." On top of the optimizations hinted at by the dev, Genshin Impact players can also expect tutorial adjustments and "intelligent management of past content."
Not setting a time frame for improvements to the new player experience, the HoYoverse developer stated that things are "in development" and even after the tutorial is adjusted effectively, future patches may continue to optimize things as a result of the continued process. Genshin Impact isn't the first online RPG to be faced with the issue of appealing to fresh players as much of the original World of Warcraft land of Azeroth was changed during Cataclysm to streamline things better for new fans. Final Fantasy 14 has also seen a boom in popularity after Square Enix made its own adjustments to the early game content in addition to bringing end-game stuff worth exploring as well.
Similar to games like World of Warcraft and Destiny 2, a lot of the Genshin Impact content doesn't open up until the end game, with some considering it to be when the ARPG really gets started which can leave low levels in the dust. Unlike the bustling Genshin Impact area of Inazuma which is locked to new players, the zone that update 3.0 focuses on called Sumeru is open to all levels, a potential step towards appealing to the low-level accounts.
Genshin Impact is available now for mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5.
Source: GamesRadar+