Genshin Impact’s first anniversary is celebrating the massively successful free-to-play game. Over the past year, the world of Genshin Impact has grown to include three elemental nations, the Dragonspine region, 42 playable characters, countless weapons and enemies, and so much more. Even with all the content this game has already seen in its lifespan, it’s nowhere near over. At least four more nations are set to be introduced in the upcoming years, as well as separate areas like the long-awaited Chasm. With just how much has happened in Genshin Impact in just one year, it is exciting to think about how the game could grow even more for its second anniversary.
One issue with trying to speculate about what is coming to Genshin Impact in the next year is game developer, miHoYo, is fairly tight-lipped about the game’s future content. There is currently no roadmap so much as hinting what is coming or when to expect it. All that the company has told the community is what order the elemental regions will be released in, which was announced one year ago before the game’s release. While there are some things that can be guessed at due to this very vague “roadmap,” most of the information that is available concerning new content in Genshin Impact is because of leaks.
Because the order of the elemental nations was confirmed a year ago, it is known that the Dendro region - Sumeru - is coming next. This is particularly exciting because there isn’t even a playable Dendro character in the game yet. In fact, the only thing players have seen of this element so far are the Dendro slimes and the Dendro Samachurls. A Dendro character called Cyno was teased by miHoYo a year ago, but nothing has been shared about him since. Considering Dendro is the only element to not be represented in the game thus far, there must be some sort of story reason for its absence. Hopefully, the answer to this question will be given in the next year.
Genshin Impact Will Likely Add The Chasm & Sumeru Next Year
Along with the Dendro region is the Chasm. The two are always tangled up whenever they are mentioned in leaks, leading many to believe that they are somehow connected. The Chasm has been labeled on Genshin Impact's map for quite some time, and plenty of NPCs in Liyue have been talking about it for just as long. But players have yet to see it. It is rumored that the Chasm will be releasing sometime in early 2022.
Considering Inazuma was just released, it makes sense that the Chasm could work as a sort of bridge between the two elemental regions. And because so little is known about Sumeru, it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce the element and playable characters through the Chasm. The climate in the Chasm is also incredibly different from Liyue, which may be similar to how Dragonspine is different from Mondstadt. The Chasm could introduce new Dendro related gameplay, similar to how Inazuma introduced new Electro puzzles, enemies, and traversal.
And then there is Sumeru itself. This new region has the potential to add even more new content and gameplay to Genshin Impact. When Inazuma was released, the difficulty of nearly everything in the game was cranked up, so it is safe to assume that this trend will continue in Sumeru. Considering the Archon, Kusanali, is the God of Wisdom, it probably means that puzzles are about to get a lot harder. There may even be more puzzle-based gameplay introduced. The enemies could be smarter and traversal around the region may require a little extra thinking. The Sumeru Academia is talked about quite a bit in the game, so this institution will more than likely have a big part to play in the region’s storyline.
What New Features & Characters Genshin Impact Could Add Next Year
After Inazuma’s launch, fishing was introduced to Genshin Impact. While players can fish throughout Teyvat, it isn’t a surprise that this gameplay was only released after the island nation was added to the game. Along those same lines, a new gameplay element could be added to go along with the new Dendro region. Sumeru might introduce building. Players can craft furniture in their Serenitea Pots, but it’s done through a menu. A new building mechanic could look something like fishing where players need to gather certain materials, go to specific places, and basically participate in a mini-game to construct and customize their houses.
Considering Genshin Impact is supposed to be getting new content for several years, it wouldn’t make sense for all of the elemental regions to be introduced right away. So it is likely that Sumeru will be next year’s only new elemental region. However, the existence of Dragonspine and the Chasm suggests that each nation might have its own contrasting region. While there isn’t anything on the map yet, the story of Inazuma suggests that it has a region like this, too. There is a quest on Watatsumi Island, home of Sangonomiya Kokomi, called “The Heart of Watatsumi.” During this quest, players learn about the history of the people of the island and that they allegedly came from Enkanomiya, an underwater location in the Dark Sea. Throughout the quest, the player is tasked with essentially opening up the passageway to this mysterious underwater nation while not actually getting to go there. It is highly possible that Enkanomiya will be Inazuma’s own kind of Dragonspine.
Beyond new regions and gameplay, Genshin Impact is certainly going to see new playable characters in the next year. Yae Miko has yet to receive a banner, not to mention any new Dendro characters like Cyno. Since past Archons have become playable, it's also likely Kusanali will be another playable character once Sumeru arrives. More character reruns, which have already been leaked, seem plausible for next year and for the rest of 2021. The Sabzeruz Festival, which celebrates Sumeru's Archon Kusanli, will also likely bring in lots of events - similar to Mondstadt's Windblume Festival or Liyue's Lantern Rite Festival. Genshin Impact is often full of surprises, and with all the content the developers have managed to create in just a year, the possibilities for the future are almost endless.