Genshin Impact developer further downplays comparisons with Breath of the Wild

By Aaron Mamiit September 26, 2020

The developers of Genshin Impact doubled down on their take that the game is not a copycat of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Nintendo Switch, despite player accusations of such ever since the game’s initial trailers.

Game developer miHoYo repeated that Breath of the Wild was one of its inspirations in creating Genshin Impact as an open-world RPG, in an interview with FreeMMOStation. “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the most popular and respected titles in the industry, and one which our staff hold in high regard,” the studio said.

Genshin Impact, however, is “very different” than Breath of the Wild once you play the game, miHoYo said, with multiple characters in a party and Musou-style gameplay. In comparison, players only control Link in Breath of the Wild.

In August 2019 at ChinaJoy, the largest gaming and digital entertainment expo in Asia, a Breath of the Wild fan protested Genshin Impact‘s similarities with the Nintendo Switch game by smashing a PlayStation 4 Pro to the ground.

Genshin Impact is set to launch on September 28 for the PlayStation 4, PC, iOS, and Android. It remains to be seen whether comparisons with Breath of the Wild will die down or intensify once players get their hands on the game.

In the interview, miHoYo also revealed that a Nintendo Switch version of Genshin Impact is in development, and that there are no plans of releasing the game for the Xbox One. The studio also said that it was focusing on the single-player and co-op modes of the game, not on a player-vs-player feature.

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