The latest Genshin Impact leaks could shed some light on what's to come in update 3.0, including the long-awaited release of the Dendro element, but the game's community is split on how accurate they are and how they were obtained.
Genshin Impact has been leaking since before its global launch, but the delayed release of update 2.7 has shifted the timeline of the usual pre-patch leaks. We still have a few weeks before the launch of update 2.8 which, based on in-game bug fix advisories, is the last patch expected before 3.0, yet multiple characters and even artifacts allegedly coming in 3.0 have already been leaked.
The headlining leak is a new male character reportedly styled after the character Su from Honkai Impact 3rd, developer Hoyoverse's other main gacha game (or rather, one of them, with Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai: Star Rail soon to come). Purported concept art for this character, unofficially dubbed Al-Haitham according to reputable leaker UBatcha, even surfaced last week.
Genshin Impact characters are regularly leaked before their release, but we don't often see art of them before Hoyoverse officially shows them off. The company has pursued legal action against leakers before, particularly where identifiable assets were involved, and this has sparked caution and doubt among Genshin leakers, not to mention a cavalcade of obviously fake (and often stolen) art passed off as leaks.
That's not the only radioactive leak, either. Just last night, the abilities for three alleged characters, all tied to the Sumeru region expected to arrive in update 3.0, were shared by another source simply known as Blank. These arrived alongside descriptions for new artifact sets also reportedly coming in 3.0.
It's unclear how accurate this information is or how it was acquired, but it's perfectly clear that even known leakers are wary of it, to the point that the notorious Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Discord issued a notice dodging the leak, fearing a DMCA from Hoyoverse. Other notable leak aggregates like SaveYourPrimos have also sworn off it.
The reveal stream for update 2.8 should arrive in the next few weeks, and if Genshin Impact's next region is planned for the following update, traces of it may be shared in the 2.8 stream – assuming Hoyoverse follows the same pattern it did with Inazuma's staggered reveal. Barring that or some surprise character "drip marketing" – which was also thrown out of whack after the delayed release of Yelan and Kuki followed by the reveal for Heizou – these leaks likely won't be officially confirmed or debunked for some time.
In the world of official Genshin Impact art, these fan-made movies are so good they're getting their own festival.
