Genshin Devs Crushed by Backlash, Feeling Defeated

HoYoverse's president, Liu Wei, recently revealed the significant impact of negative player feedback on the Genshin Impact development team. This article delves into his comments and the challenging period the game has faced.

Genshin Devs Overwhelmed by Negative Fan Feedback

Team Committed to Improvement and Player Communication

(c) SentientBamboo Liu Wei described the "anxiety and confusion" experienced by the Genshin Impact team due to intense criticism over the past year. His remarks, recorded and translated by SentientBamboo on YouTube, followed a period of growing player dissatisfaction, particularly after the Lunar New Year 2024 updates.

Wei detailed the team's emotional response to the negative feedback, stating, "Over the past year, both the Genshin team and I experienced a lot of anxiety and confusion...We heard a lot of noise, and some of it was really, really sharp, causing our entire project team to feel really useless."

This statement follows several controversies surrounding recent updates, including the 4.4 Lantern Rite event's perceived underwhelming rewards (three intertwined fates). Comparisons to other HoYoverse titles like Honkai: Star Rail, and even Kuro Games' Wuthering Waves, fueled negative reviews and criticism regarding update quality and gameplay mechanics.

Further discontent arose from the 4.5 Chronicled Banner's gacha system and concerns about the representation of characters inspired by real-world cultures.

While visibly emotional, Wei acknowledged player concerns, stating, "Some people felt that our project team was really arrogant...But it’s like [presenter] Aquaria said – we’re actually the same as everyone, we are also gamers. We simply heard too much noise. We needed to calm down and discern the true voices of the Travelers."

Despite the challenges, Liu expressed optimism for the future, reaffirming the team's commitment to improvement and open communication with the player base. He stated, "I know, even today, we still can't meet everyone's expectations. But...I feel we also received a lot of courage and trust from our Travelers. So from now on...I hope that the entire Genshin team along with all the Genshin players can stop weighing on their pasts and whole-heartedly create the best experience."

In other news, a preview for the upcoming Natlan region was recently released, with its launch scheduled for August 28th.