Genshin Impact 3.1 special program will finally unveil Cyno and Nilou this Friday

Genshin Impact
(Image credit: Hoyoverse)

The Genshin Impact 3.1 special program will air this Friday, September 16.

As the official Genshin Impact Twitter announced, the show starts at 5am PT / 8am ET / 1pm BT. The livestream will air via Twitch and be posted to YouTube roughly four hours later. For some reason, the Genshin Twitch channel doesn't archive streams, so if you can't catch the special program live, you'll have to watch the video on YouTube later in the day. 

The headliners for version 3.1 are Cyno and Nilou, believed to be the two new five-star characters of the update. Nilou played a major role in the story quests of update 3.0, while Cyno seems to be a key figure in Sumeru's desert region. After 3.0 focused on the region's forest biomes, the desert is expected to be expanded – or rather, unlocked – in update 3.1 as we get to know Cyno in-game.  

Cyno and Nilou will roll out alongside Candace, a presumed four-star who will likely appear on the banners for one-half of the update. We've only seen artwork for these new characters so far, but the 3.1 reveal stream should give us a rundown of their abilities, not to mention the signature weapons that will be released with them. 

Not long after the stream but before the release of update 3.1, we should also get teaser art for the characters coming in 3.2. Given that Inazuma's archon, Raiden Shogun, was released in the second patch of the region, it seems likely that the Dendro archon Nahida will be released in 3.2, especially given her prominent position in the Sumeru storyline thus far.  

As ever, the 3.1 special program will bring three extremely limited-time redemption codes worth 300 Primogems and other resources. These are usually only good for a day, so however you choose to tune into the show, be sure to redeem these codes as quickly as you can.

Here are all the Genshin Impact codes available today and how to redeem them. 

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.