Genshin Impact casually reveals two new characters months ahead of their release

Genshin Impact
(Image credit: MiHoYo)

Genshin Impact's next major update drops on Wednesday, but developer MiHoYo did something surprising today and revealed two new characters presumably coming in July's 1.7 update. The first of those revealed is Sayu, a four-star Anemo character that is rumored to be a healer (her weapon type hasn't been officially revealed yet). She's apparently a Ninja and hails from the Inazuma region, which will be the first major continent added to Genshin Impact when it launches later this year.

Alongside Sayu, MiHoYo also revealed Yoimiya, a five-star Pyro archer who also hails from Inazuma. Again, details are extremely scarce at this point as all MiHoYo has revealed is that Sayu is the owner of the Naganohara Fireworks, which presumably is an important business in Inazuma that will somehow relate to the larger story.

Aside from the character art, there's not much more to say. It's a bit weird that MiHoYo is showcasing these new additions to the roster so early, though. Update 1.6 arrives on Wednesday and we only just recently got a look at the new characters coming alongside it. So it's anyone's guess when Sayu and Yoimiya will be playable.

Traditionally Genshin Impact runs on a loose six-week schedule of major updates, but we don't have much insight into what's beyond the next patch. We do know that we're slowly inching toward the release of Inazuma, a whole new region to explore that will represent a sizable expansion to the base game, but MiHoYo's exact roadmap is still a mystery. That said, I'm not complaining. It's cool to see Sayu and Yoimiya finally revealed. Hopefully we'll have more details on what update they'll accompany soon.

For more on Genshin Impact, check out our character tier list and guide to all the new features coming in patch 1.6, Midsummer Island Adventure

Steven Messner

With over 7 years of experience with in-depth feature reporting, Steven's mission is to chronicle the fascinating ways that games intersect our lives. Whether it's colossal in-game wars in an MMO, or long-haul truckers who turn to games to protect them from the loneliness of the open road, Steven tries to unearth PC gaming's greatest untold stories. His love of PC gaming started extremely early. Without money to spend, he spent an entire day watching the progress bar on a 25mb download of the Heroes of Might and Magic 2 demo that he then played for at least a hundred hours. It was a good demo.