How many times do we have to call you out, HoYoverse?
Genshin Impact has had its fair share of both praise and criticism since its release in September 2020, and the criticisms don’t seem to be addressed with each patch being released.
Back in 2021, HoYoverse (then still called miHoYo) was embroiled in an alleged racism and colorism issue that divided players after some personalities pointed out some problematic elements on the game developer’s part.
There seemed to be a glimmer of hope for the developers to improve on their (continuous) past mistakes on colorism and whitewashing, but fans’ hopes were quashed, and they were once again met with immense disappointment after the release of the new region’s trailer.
Even before its release, Natlan, the new region, had already been teased to be based on the indigenous cultures of Latin America, Africa, and Aboriginal Australia. Some, if not the majority (as we are currently only speaking about the English-speaking community) of the fans had hoped that the characters from Natlan would finally have the color representation that they’d been clamoring for for years.
But, following the release of Natlan’s teaser video titled, “Need a Hand?”, fans were not happy at all. Like, the characters are supposed to be inspired from cultures of POCs, right? And, some of the names of the characters are based off actual deities from those cultures; shouldn’t they [HoYoverse] have learned their lesson already?
Genshin Impact players banded together on social media to (once again) decry the lack of color representation in the popular game, and the appropriation that HoYoverse keeps on doing. Other players/artists also shared their imagined designs for the characters hailing from the Natlan region.
All I gotta say is…. Natlan is a huge disappointment! pic.twitter.com/9LT9jx9HFe
— sundae_jack (@sundaejck) July 13, 2024
I understand the frustration surrounding Natlan and am learning more about how shockingly disappointing Hoyo's efforts at representation are. I hope players can be empathetic and hear out the people from the cultures Natlan takes inspiration from and why they feel aggrieved.
— Sevy (@SevyPlays) July 13, 2024
this is exactly how genshin tricks you into thinking certain characters are tan or dark-skinned, because their pale characters are SO PALE that blood circulation looks like a tan https://t.co/d0FuJHHSsw
— .ﾟ+. daily mummy girl / ikhfa +.ﾟ#BoycottHYV (@dailymummygirl) July 13, 2024
— lial.k ❤️ (@LialKRose) July 12, 2024
i have this image saved for this exact scenario https://t.co/Gk4gZcMiwE pic.twitter.com/XM0SAsGvZK
— aisling 🪐🐇 | COMMS OPEN (3/5) | TEAM STARDUST (@_aislingxyz) July 13, 2024
#ororon redesign #Natlan #Genshin_Imact pic.twitter.com/TyMc7c4Rgl
— Meg (@Akutawah) July 12, 2024
Look at this bullshit. Fix your fuckass games hyv. #BoycottHYV #Hoyoverse #GenshinImpact #HSR #Honkai_Star_Rail #Natlan pic.twitter.com/BTls1SSZ7b
— NEKARION (@nekarionn) July 13, 2024
“Natlan characters are dark skinned” THEYRE BEIGE THEYRE ALL BEIGE YOU MOTHERFUCKER pic.twitter.com/9bzwBgM1uK
— sam 🧸🤡 (@whomisbear) July 5, 2024
It bothers me that Natlan is African/ Latin based, and the characters are so pale. The issue of it is that if you're going to base characters on tribal people and gods from another region, include their skin color as well.
Hoyoverse needs to do better. Because this is not it. pic.twitter.com/UrWp6aK0Om
— Serena Klisch 🌸 🔜 Otakon E202 ✨️C0MMS OPEN✨️ (@TheRedUsagiVO) July 13, 2024
going into natlan pic.twitter.com/V3p9mffW8T
— ni (@ngoctrongly) July 5, 2024
I will once again not be sticking to canon when I draw Natlan characters because naw what is this
— samairu ✦ 🍉 (@samairu_art) July 12, 2024
its upsetting bc i genuinely believe there is a disconnect between the art team and the corporate leaders at hyv who have dismantled the intended design of the natlan cast. like theres no way the artists werent planning to make everyone black with those palettes…
— Silver *̥˚✧ 🌱🏛️ (@silverkoi__) July 13, 2024
The difference between thoughtful and respectful representation and utter disrespect and lack of care. Hoyoverse knows how to properly and mindfully design characters when they want to they just don’t respect Africans and Latin Americans. #WhyAreTheyWhiteHoyo #GenshinImpact pic.twitter.com/xZ82wgx5jN
— josie (@renefiction) July 13, 2024
Fans suggested to do a repeat of the “First Anniversary” protest, which basically was when fans review bombed the game on different platforms just to get HoYoverse’s attention on what the fans actually felt about the rewards they were giving out on the game’s first anniversary.
Wait remember when we review bombed Genshin into giving us better first anniversary rewards? What if we did that again, but into giving us better Natlan characters
— 🥀 Nana | CՕMMS OPEN 🎩 (@PallynPalace) July 12, 2024
review bomb too first anniversary style pic.twitter.com/UX8AZn0XHG
— ऋचा (@Kavehsgirlie) July 14, 2024
Please dont forget to review bomb on app store as well, google play & app store use their own app reviews https://t.co/U37aRBXFat pic.twitter.com/ttgzdOjAQw
— Daily Sethos⏳ (@hourlysethos) July 14, 2024
for people with Samsung, don't forget that the playstore and the galaxy store are different and you can review bomb genshin on BOTH PLATFORMS!!!!#BoycottHYV https://t.co/7R8a4KRTkh pic.twitter.com/ZEOSIELSlK
— lyra ๋࣭ ⭑♡ (@caellyra_) July 14, 2024
This is what I'm saying. Keep reviewing with 1 star, maybe they'll actually do smth https://t.co/fXkh5CNAAk
— Paw 🐾: in verge of breaking down (@pawnyao) July 14, 2024
Let's go https://t.co/GqWazpUgxY pic.twitter.com/Eq0VgcSQX7
— ∆•°×frapii×°•∆ (@frapiicchino) July 14, 2024
Voice actors for Genshin Impact also couldn’t keep mum about the issue,and voiced out their own opinions on the issue.
Email them.
[email protected] pic.twitter.com/E0lDpYFudz
— June Yoon || 성우 윤준 (@JuneYoon_) July 13, 2024
https://twittercom/dreyahVA/status/1812137462451560788
I could stay quiet about this & protect myself but us folks of color don’t always need to stay quiet & let others fk us over and disrespect us so that we can continue to advance at half the pace of our white peers.
1/2— Valeria Rodríguez 🍉 (@ElvisBadger) July 13, 2024
I didn’t know THATS who he’s based on… AH that’s bad.
You still got time to fix it 👀 https://t.co/zH9UGI5u0g
— Alejandro Saab = Akihiko 🔫 (@KaggyFilms) July 13, 2024
Dani Chambers
Eng VA of Arlan (HSR) and Nilou (Genshin) pic.twitter.com/EBm1k6b8WE— Timely Harmony 🧩 | FREE 🍉 (@timelyharmony_) July 14, 2024
Amber May
Eng VA of Yanqing (HSR) and Dehya (Genshin) pic.twitter.com/RI7DkZRPE3— Timely Harmony 🧩 | FREE 🍉 (@timelyharmony_) July 14, 2024
Allegra Clark
Eng VA of Acheron (HSR) and Beidou (Genshin) pic.twitter.com/otGvBbEIgf— Timely Harmony 🧩 | FREE 🍉 (@timelyharmony_) July 14, 2024
Sam Slade
Eng VA of Topaz (HSR) and Anby (ZZZ) pic.twitter.com/3ClmD4CGNQ— Timely Harmony 🧩 | FREE 🍉 (@timelyharmony_) July 14, 2024
Khoi Dao
Eng VA of Albedo (Genshin) pic.twitter.com/Q3rKM1mKpJ— Timely Harmony 🧩 | FREE 🍉 (@timelyharmony_) July 14, 2024
Anne Yatco
Eng VA of Raiden Shogun pic.twitter.com/B1RC9vWAG6— Timely Harmony 🧩 | FREE 🍉 (@timelyharmony_) July 14, 2024
AJ Beckles
Eng VA of Sugilite (HSR) pic.twitter.com/rh3H9CyWfh— Timely Harmony 🧩 | FREE 🍉 (@timelyharmony_) July 14, 2024
There are no more words that can be said about this. This has been an issue for quite some time now, and yet HoYoverse still doesn’t get it. Many have already spoken out about it, but still, HoYoverse continues to turn a blind eye to what people have to say about their colorism and cultural appropriation.
It’s quite a shame.
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