Genshin Impact is facing more accusations of cultural appropriation and whitewashing, and some of its voice actors are asking publisher HoYoverse to make changes.
The ever-expanding universe of Genshin Impact features stories and locations seemingly inspired by the real world. Similarities range from the geography of the game’s settings to the architecture, mythology, music, food, and history in general. Those connections have been extended to a new region, Natlan, which was revealed in a trailer released last week.
Fan outrage stems from what many see as a failure to accurately represent the cultures each character hails from, including the fact that Mawukia, Kinih and Ororon – who appear to be inspired by real-life deities such as Maori Mahuika – are all white . It continues the trend in Genshin Impact that had players begging for a proper performance.
Now, some of the actors behind the faces of Genshin Impact have started to get involved. Albedo actor Khoi Dao posted a statement on X/Twitter calling for a change in Genshin Impact.
“If a game draws so much from real-world cultures and bases a character on the supreme deity of the Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like a pale Sasuke Batman, people are absolutely within their rights to demand better representation, ESPECIALLY when said game has a clear commitment to a *global* audience.”
Dao continued, “I hope you will continue to make your voices heard and I hope you will be listened to.”
Zeno Robinson, who voices the recently released Genshin Impact character Sethos, also called out the HoYoverse, highlighting the worldwide desire for better representation.
“If even your core audience, the Chinese fans, want better representation/or characters with different shades of melanin, who are you making those characters for?” Robinson said.
Elohe is the supreme deity of the Yoruba people. You can find this even with a quick Google search.
This is unforgivable. Look what a sick job SMITE did with their own interpretation!!! IT IS NOT DIFFICULT!!! pic.twitter.com/LbP3nuT3MK— Valeria Rodriguez 🍉 (@ElvisBadger) July 13, 2024
Sucrose actor Valeria Rodriguez drew more attention to the issue with a series of posts. One post compared Olorun’s appearance in Titan Forge Games’ MOBA title, Smite, to their appearance in Genshin Impact, saying, “Look what a sick job SMITE did with their own interpretation!!! IT IS NOT DIFFICULT!!!”
“It shouldn’t be a radical desire to want to see yourself reflected in the media you consume,” Yoimiya actress Jenny Yokobori said in her own post.
Natlan has not yet been officially added to the Genshin Impact universe and has no release date. With still time between now and its launch, Cyno actor Alejandro Saab took note of the complaints surrounding Ororon and sent a request to the HoYoverse team.
“I didn’t know THAT was who it was based on… Oh, that’s bad,” Saab said. “You still have time to fix it.”
there’s so much beauty in the world—so many stories that can be told or drawn from it—and when it’s not done to its fullest extent, it ends up feeling disrespectful, even if that’s not the intent. I hope it is possible to make changes at this stage.
— Allegra Clark (@SimplyAllegra) July 13, 2024
Anne Yatco, who plays Genshin Impact’s Raiden Shogun, added: “I really hope a video game company listens to its fanbase when, for several years in a row, valid criticisms are made of its research execution and inclusion of elements/aspects of others cultures.”
Genshin Impact released in 2020 and has continued to build on its foundation with new locations and characters in the years since. HoYoverse has yet to respond to calls for better performance or the BoycottHYV movement.
IGN has reached out for comment.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor to IGN. He began writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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