Genshin Impact is coming to the Epic Games Store

Genshin Impact turned out to be one of the biggest gaming hits of 2020, though you wouldn't know it if you only get your PC games through digital storefronts like Steam. That's because Genshin Impact launched without any kind of presence on third-party stores. Instead, developer miHoYo decided to handle distribution of the game itself. While that has clearly gone well for miHoYo, it looks like that's all changing next week when Genshin Impact launches on the Epic Games Store.

miHoYo originally announced that Genshin Impact will be coming to the Epic Games Store in a Twitter post that has since been deleted. While we're not sure why it has been deleted, the Epic Games Store listing for Genshin Impact is up and running, with Epic Store users even able to add it to their wishlist.

Genshin Impact has an Epic Games Store release date of June 8th, which is just under a week away. We're not sure why miHoYo made the decision to launch on the Epic Games Store given that Genshin Impact seems to be doing well enough with its own launcher, but it's possible that miHoYo and Epic managed to work out some deal that made splitting the profits on in-game transactions attractive for the developer.

Of course, it's not like you have to wait for June 8th to start playing Genshin Impact, as the game is free-to-play and easily obtainable. Still, if you prefer Epic's launcher over miHoYo's or you're an avid Epic Games Store user and just want to have all your games in one place, then this is good news indeed. It could also help expand Genshin Impact's reach, but again, given its success since it launched, we're guessing that miHoYo was already satisfied on that front.

It's worth noting that Genshin Impact will be going live on the Epic Games Store a day before its big version 1.6 summer update goes live. Among other things, the version 1.6 update will add a new five star character to the game, along with new skins and a new boating mechanic.