Published on September 6, 20200

Does Genshin Impact Have a PvP Multiplayer Mode?

PvP in games usually is a love it or hate it affair, especially when it comes to gacha games. You know, those titles where the balance of power is always tipped in favor of gamers with the largest pockets, apart from very few exceptions. When an awe-inspiring game such as Genshin Impact looms in the horizon, players take notice and begin wondering if they are restricted to the main campaign or they can test their skills against others. Does Genshin Impact have a PvP multiplayer mode or not?

Does Genshin Impact Feature PvP Combat?

The short answer is no, Genshin Impact doesn't have a PvP mode. There's no way that you can jump into frenzied player versus player action in Teyvat, because that's not what miHoYo had in mind when it started planning this online anime action RPG. The Chinese studio had a wonderful and whimsical open world experience in mind which could be played solo or with a few friends.

This much was stated by miHoYo's co-founder Forrest Liu in an interview that took place in August 2020, a month before the official launch of Genshin Impact on PC, PS4, Android, and iOS. You can see the video below, but when asked about PvP, these were his words:

“Our original intention was to give players an immersive open world experience, and so we have provided a solo mode as well as a co-op mode for players to invite their friends to go on adventures together with them.”

If we go back to an official FAQ dating from June 2019, we'll find another mention to Genshin Impact PvP:

” […] Furthermore, gameplay modes like PVP multiplayer or intense one-on-one battles will not be our future priorities either. Rather, we hope to make a game in which every player can have a whole world only to themselves, but also with the freedom to let friends in.”

It's clear that PvP isn't what players should be waiting for. We shouldn't completely rule it out, but Genshin Impact was designed in a completely opposite direction, and adding player versus player combat would require a lot of effort and resources, as well as a long development time. There's so much planned for the future content of Genshin Impact such as new outfits and a housing system, not to mention the remaining five major cities and about a dozen of upcoming characters, that even a studio with over 500 employees has to choose where to focus its energy.

For those who would like to see Genshin Impact PvP in some shape or form, don't give up hope yet – miHoYo's previous game, Honkai Impact 3rd, received a PvP mode after release, although it's not the real-time or open world PvP that most players are wishing for. Still, who knows if something of the sort won't arrive in Genshin Impact… in two or three years?