Genshin Impact on Xbox won’t require a Game Pass subscription to play multiplayer

Hoyoverse has confirmed Xbox players will not need to purchase a Game Pass subscription in order to access Genshin Impact’s online multiplayer mode.

The confusion began soon after Hoyoverse announced Genshin Impact would be making its way to Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass. Initially, the game’s Xbox store page listing stated: “Online multiplayer on console requires Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Game Pass Core (sold separately).”

Those on ResetEra pointed out this is a different approach to other free-to-play games on the platform, such as Fortnite.

Now, Hoyoverse has removed the wording from Xbox’s store page. “Genshin Impact is a free-to-play game. You do not need to purchase Game Pass Ultimate or Core to play the game in Co-Op Mode,” Hoyoverse shared in a statement with Eurogamer.

“Players with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription can receive in-game bundles upon the game’s launch and after subsequent version updates, as well as play Genshin Impact on Xbox Cloud Gaming.”

Genshin Impact is set to make its debut on Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass later this year, on 20th November.

Genshin Impact was previously released across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, iOS, and Android. Despite being announced for Nintendo Switch, we are still to hear any more on that elusive release date – it was first revealed back in January 2020. Another one being held back for Switch 2, perhaps?

For more, here’s the Genshin Impact tier list for September 2024 during version 5.0.