List of Genshin Impact characters

Some of Genshin Impact's characters were first introduced in an official manga released prior to the game's launch.[1]

When designing the characters, the designers first decide who the character is at their core as well as their needs, then they may design the character to fit that original idea and those needs.[2] Designers may also consider the relation of a character to other characters in Teyvat: for example the elegant and reserved opera singer Yun Jin was designed to juxtaposition the fiery and unbound rock star Xinyan.[3]

Many characters are derived from legends of certain nations: the adepti of Liyue, for example, are based on the Xian of Daoism. The idea of the Vision itself also derives from Daoism: the concept of a third eye manifests itself in humans as the form of the Vision they receive.[2] Some characters are also named for historical figures, such as Alhaitham and Tighnari.

The characters of Genshin Impact have enjoyed positive reception, especially in terms of revenue: as Genshin Impact is a gacha game, much of its revenue comes from sales of in-game currency players use to obtain characters. Most revenue comes from limited character banners. Across all platforms (including mobile, console and computer platforms), the game is estimated to have grossed nearly $3.7 billion in its first year by September 2021, the highest ever first-year launch revenue for any video game.[27][28][29] The mobile version grossed a further $567 million between January and March 2022,[30] adding up to more than $4.267 billion grossed as of March 2022.

Some characters enjoyed massive popularity, such as Raiden Shogun, whose first banner earned the highest two-day revenue at the time in the game, at $9M.[31] Although it is impossible to calculate the full revenue across all platforms where Genshin Impact is available, certain numbers are available. As of March 2021, the character Zhongli was the highest grossing character, with $15.5M reported in revenue at the time.[32]

Genshin Impact's characters have been met with claims of colorism.[33][34] Some have pointed out how dark-skinned characters have been described as "exotic" and "scary" in their character descriptions, while others have noted the lack of skin tones in the game's Sumeru region. Sumeru takes inspiration from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, with a great variety of skin tones found among the people of these cultures. However, the characters of Sumeru were designed with predominantly pale or light brown skin. Since Genshin Impact's playable characters are designed for attractiveness and marketability, some have suggested that the game's developers consider darker skin "uglier" and "not marketable enough".[35][36]

Other controversies have involved what were perceived as the poor kits, or set of unique abilities, of certain characters:

• In November 2020, Zhongli's kit and gameplay was seen as so poor that it was taken as an insult towards the game's Chinese playerbase. miHoYo published a blog post in response noting that the character was working as designed.[37] Later, miHoYo issued an apology, and promised to improve the character's kit during beta testing for the game's Version 1.3 update.[38]
• In March 2023, fans of the character Dehya organized a campaign to urge the wider playerbase to demand changes to her kit, since many of her fans saw it as underpowered and bugged.[39] Some suggested that this was another result of the developers' colorism.[40] Though HoYoverse replied to feedback requests explaining that some features worked as intended, they did not announce an overhaul to her character as with Zhongli.