Genshin Impact anime coming from the makers of Demon Slayer

A Genshin Impact anime is in the works at Demon Slayer studio ufotable.

Developer Hoyoverse announced its collaboration with ufotable during today's big 3.1 special program as part of the game's anniversary celebrations. Only a brief snippet of the in-progress Genshin Impact anime was shown, so we still don't have a sense of its story or scope, but the fact that an animated series is in the works at all, and at such a well-known studio, has riled fans right up.

Hoyoverse described the Genshin Impact anime as a "long-term project launch" with ufotable, which suggests the first installment in the anime may be a ways out and that it could see much more than a single season. Of course, that's assuming it's a traditional seasonal work; it's possible this will be a series of shorts, non-linear works, or other animated snippets.

"After a lot of painstaking work, we are happy to present you with this surprise on our anniversary and officially announce the animation collaboration project between Genshin Impact and ufotable," Hoyoverse marketing head Michael says on-stream, at least confirming that this is indeed an anime of some kind. "We hope you will be able to experience the animation project as soon as possible," he adds.

The reveal trailer for the Genshin Impact anime is largely a fly-by tour of Mondstadt, Genshin Impact's first region. Familiar forests, hills, and statues whiz by in stunning HD. We also get a few shots of what looks like the mountains of Dragonspine and the plains of Liyue before our twin Travelers step into the spotlight.

The fact that the twins were shown together despite being estranged in the game's story has already sparked theories that the anime will feature a prequel or original story of some kind. Whatever's going on here, it sure looks gorgeous. If we're lucky, we'll get our first real glimpse at it within a year or two.

Genshin Impact 3.1 banners confirm Cyno, Nilou, and Candace debuts.

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.