Genshin has faced accusations of cultural appropriation and whitewashing, with some of its voice actors calling for publisher HoYoverse to make changes.
Genshin’s ever-expanding world features stories and places that appear to be inspired by the real world. Similarities range from the in-game setting’s geography to its architecture, mythology, music, food, and overall history. These connections extend to the new region, Na’Trang, revealed in a trailer released last week.
The fan outcry stems from what many feel is a failure to accurately represent the cultures each character influenced, including the fact that Mabukia, Kinich, and Oloron, who are supposedly inspired by real-life deities like the Maori Mahuika, are all white. This continues a trend for Genshin Impact where players have been begging for proper representation.
Now, some of Genshin’s characters are starting to speak out. Koi Dao, the actor who plays Albedo, made a statement on X/Twitter calling for changes to Genshin.
“When a game is heavily influenced by real-world culture, bases a character on the supreme deity of the Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like a pale Sasuke Batman, then people absolutely have a right to demand better representation, especially when that game is clearly aimed at a ‘global’ audience.”
Dao continued: “I hope you all continue to speak out and people will listen.”
Zeno Robinson, the voice of the character Sethos in the recently released Genshin Impact, also slammed HoYoverse and highlighted a global demand for better representation.
“If your base audience, the Chinese fans, are asking for better representation, for characters with different shades of melanin, then who are you making these characters for?” Robinson said.
Ọlọrun is the supreme god of the Yoruba people, and can be found with a quick Google search.
This is unacceptable. Look at what SMITE did with their own interpretation, they did a great job!!! It’s not hard!!! pic.twitter.com/LbP3nuT3MK— Valeria Rodriguez 🍉 (@ElvisBadger) July 13, 2024
Succubus actor Valeria Rodriguez also brought further attention to the issue in a series of posts, in one comparing Olorun’s appearance in Titan Forge Games’ MOBA title Smite to his appearance in Genshin Impact, saying, “Look what a great job SMITE did with their own interpretation!!! It’s not hard!!!”
“The desire to see yourself reflected in the media you consume shouldn’t be something extreme,” Jenny Yokobori, the actress who plays Yoimiya, said in her post.
Natlan has yet to be officially added to the Genshin universe and does not have a release date. With some time left until launch, Cyno actor Alejandro Saab has taken notice of the complaints surrounding Oloron and has made a request to the HoYoverse team.
“I didn’t know he was based on that guy… Oh, that’s bad,” Saab said. “There’s still time to fix it.”
There is so much beauty in the world and so many stories to be told and drawn from, and not expressing that fully can come across as disrespectful, even if that wasn’t your intention. Hopefully, we can change that at this stage.
— Allegra Clark (@SimplyAllegra) July 13, 2024
Anne Yatko, who plays Genshin Impact’s General Raiden, added: “I sincerely hope that video game companies will listen to their fans when there have been valid criticisms made over the years about the conduct of research and the incorporation of elements and aspects of other cultures.”
Genshin Impact was released in 2020 and has continued to build on its foundation by adding new locations and characters since then. The HoYoverse has yet to respond to calls for better representation and 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 in outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Follow @MikeCripe on Twitter.