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[Update: Corrected a misattribution of Ufotable’s work. They animated the Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel films, while Cloverworks animated Fate/Grand Order: Babylonia.]
HoYoVerse had a surprise for fans during its Genshin Impact version 3.1 preview stream event: A Genshin Impact anime series. The company announced that it is working with Japanese anime studio Ufotable on an animated series based on the game.
The project was introduced with a concept trailer showing three minutes of Genshin Impact anime.
The Genshin Impact anime concept trailer begins in a forest, and with everyone’s favorite emergency ration, Paimon. From there, images of Teyvat scenery, including Mondstadt, Dragonspine, Barbatos’ Archon Statue, and the protagonists Lumine and Aether standing together followed.
HoYoVerse calls it a “long-term project”, which means fans shouldn’t expect something anytime soon, but also that its work with Ufotable isn’t intended to be a short-term fling. This could signal its intent for multiple projects over a long period of time. Perhaps over time it could be a relationship similar to the one Ufotable holds with Aniplex and Type-Moon for Fate franchise anime adaptations (Ufotable animated Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, Fate/Zero, and Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel), or the way Studio Pierrot has animated many Shonen Jump manga series.
HoYoVerse isn’t the first non-Japanese developer to seek out Japanese anime expertise for its projects. Until it established Yostar Pictures, Azur Lane and Arknights publisher Yostar used Japan-based studios to create animated promos for its games. And this week, CD Projekt Red and Studio Trigger launched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an anime series based on the world of Cyberpunk 2077. HoYoVerse itself produces its own in-house animation. The latest Honkai Impact 3rd animated short was produced by MiHoYo Animation and Wonderium.
A Genshin Impact anime project is in development, with no specified date or distribution channel. The game is available on iOS, Android, PS4, PS5, and PC.
