On January 19, 2024, HoYoverse conducted the official livestream for Genshin Impact version 4.4. However, the rewards announced did not sit well with the fanbase, especially for Chinese players.
Lantern Rite is the biggest festival in Genshin Impact since it commemorates the Chinese New Year. This festival is much bigger than the anniversary of Genshin Impact. Unfortunately, the gacha title is quite minimalist when it comes to rewarding players and the Lantern Rite gifts have not changed since the launch of the game.
As it happens, players have reached a tipping point and the Chinese community especially is heartbroken and disappointed. This time the discourse is even greater because the other games by HoYoverse, Honkai Star Rail, and Honkai Impact 3, rewarded its players with free 5-star units.
However, the biggest reward that Genshin Impact players have received is free 10 wishes which amount to almost nothing.
Genshin's Douyin account has lost more than a million followers today.Chinese players were dissatisfied with the Chinese New Year rewards, after which a “strike” began. Apart from Douyin, people are also unfollowing them from other social networks. #GenshinImpact #原神 pic.twitter.com/hiATRiVo7P
— Genshin Universe (@GenshinUniverse) January 21, 2024
Genshin Impact accounts in China lose millions of followers overnight
The discourse primarily came into focus when the Genshin Impact Tiktok account in China lost over a million followers in about 24 hours. The news soon reached the global playerbase and they started speaking up about that as well.
It is no surprise that the global Genshin Impact community has been disappointed for quite a while, especially with rewards during the anniversary. Back during the first anniversary, the global fanbase review bombed Genshin Impact out of anger which prompted HoYoverse to provide 1600 Primogems, though that was all the players received.
However, the Chinese community being angry at HoYoverse has led to greater results, with the developers being forced to buff Zhongli back in 2021. This time, the situation is not much different as not just Tiktok, but Genshin Impact’s official account on Bilibili is getting review bombed by Chinese players.
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– GENSHIN IMPACT NEWS – Genshin Impact is getting review bombed on Bilibili due to players only getting 3 Intertwined Fates for 3 Years.Maybe Tectone’s recent rants about the game and it’s lack of progress were correct? #Genshinlmpact #Genshin pic.twitter.com/S7267PDILp
— SipSipStefen (@SipSipStefen) January 22, 2024
Lantern Rite in Genshin Impact signifies the Chinese New Year and HoYoverse belonging to the same country means this is the biggest event within the game. Hence, it is natural for players to expect the maximum rewards at this time of the year.
However, HoYoverse simply giving out a couple of free Intertwined Fates even after all the support players have shown over the years feels disrespectful to the Chinese fanbase. Additionally, Genshin Impact’s rewards look bleaker by the day when compared to HoYoverse’s other titles where players are receiving free 5-star units.
It is unclear what step HoYoverse will take surrounding the matter. This is because there were reports that HoYoverse is allegedly using bot accounts to maintain its follower counts. It is quite unlikely that HoYoverse will give out a free 5-star to its players, but they might add in some additional rewards to calm down the fanbase.
In any case, we will update you with further information once the situation develops a bit more in the future.
