In the days since the initial release of the Natlan teaser “Ignition,” a large portion of the Genshin Impact community, including voice actors, have been calling Hoyoverse out for their colorism in character design, and a lack of respect for the cultures that they base their nations on. This discussion is happening on multiple social media platforms including X and TikTok, with fans directing their attention towards calling on Hoyoverse to right their wrongs and change the designs.
In the wake of the Natlan teaser release, Honkai: Star Rail released a trailer that showcased the Interastral Peace Corporation’s Ten Stonehearts, a faction that many are comparing to Genshin’s Fatui – serving as an antagonistic force with each member focusing on their own ends. This decision mirrors the release of “A Winter’s Night Lazzo” which revealed all the Fatui Harbinger designs. This just so happened to immediately follow the reveal of the Sumeru characters which sparked the initial discussion among the community about Hoyo’s colorism.
There was even a worry that this new trailer would follow in the footsteps of the Fatui trailer and distract the community from demanding Hoyo listen to their concerns. As of today it seems that the #BoycottHYV on X is still chugging along strong and has not been severely undermined by the new Star Rail trailer. If anything this is a wonderful chance to bring Star Rail into the conversation. Hoyoverse’s colorism is not limited to their most popular game, with Star Rail only having one playable unit that isn’t pale, Arlan, a four star from launch.
The conversation has also expanded in a different way to include Sumeru. The conversation about Sumeru’s colorism seemed to drop off in the wake of the Fatui trailer, with fans who were demanding change feeling silenced by other members of the community saying “wait until Natlan.” Well, upon Natlan’s disappointing teaser, there wasn’t anywhere else that players know of to wait for and all resistance to the justified callouts of Hoyoverse has been unable to hide its deeply problematic tone since then.
As the community continues to demand change from Hoyoverse, they continue to advocate for group collective action in their efforts. Currently the biggest asks among the community are for a boycott of Hoyoverse products, whether that be in-game purchases or real life merch from the company. Alternatives to both options include becoming free to play, and for any merch needs, reaching out to artists in the vast community that Genshin has.
Also in terms of action designed to get Hoyo’s attention, not spending is the most important activity, but there are some added means of protest. Submitting a negative review on the app store is one such way, and in that review making sure to address the concerns about colorism and respecting cultural representation. There is also a petition currently circulating on Change.org which as of writing this has 70,500 signatures.
Whether a player chooses to stop playing Hoyoverse games or not is up to them, and how those players renegotiate their relationship to the company and its games is also up to them. However, what is clear is that everyone might want to start grinding for premium currency, because we should at least all be going free to play until the demands of the people that Hoyoverse has silenced are met.