Genshin Impact's first big update arrives in November

Genshin Impact gets its first big update in November, developer miHoYo has announced.

The 1.1 update, dubbed A New Star Approaches, comes out 11th November 2020 on PC, Android, iOS and PlayStation 4, and adds new stories, characters, a seasonal event and a reputation system to the breakout free-to-play open world action RPG.

Meanwhile, miHoYo confirmed Genshin Impact will be playable on PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility, with "improved graphics" and faster load times.

The 1.1 update adds a series of brand new quests, including the grand finale to the Liyue chapter of the main storyline. Four new playable characters are added, including two five-star characters: Childe and Zhongli.

Childe is a Hydro archer who can switch between melee and ranged combat modes.

Zhongli is a Geo polearm user who deals immense area of effect damage, possesses strong defensive abilities, and has the power to petrify his enemies.

The two new four-star characters are Xinyan and Diona.

Genshin Impact's first seasonal event is called Unreconciled Stars. Here, players must fight back against a sudden catastrophe facing Teyvat. The two-week event includes new quests, new co-op challenges and new rewards, such as the four-star character Fischl.

And finally, there's a brand new per-city reputation system, which lets you build up your rep to unlock rewards and new, region-exclusive items and customisations. New tools include a portable waypoint, portable stove, treasure compass, and oculus resonance stones, which miHoYo said will be useful for exploring, surviving, and battling.

Genshin Impact is one of the big video game hits of the year, despite only being out for just over a month. According to analysts, is the biggest global launch of a Chinese game ever. Writing for Eurogamer, Sayem Ahmed called Genshin Impact "a revolution for traditional free-to-play".

"It's still early days for Genshin Impact, but it feels like we've entered into a new era of gacha-style games with AAA quality delivered with zero cost of entry," Ahmed said.

"Genshin Impact isn't a juggernaut in the making - it's already here. The ramifications of its release are still unclear for a games industry that's beginning to widely diversify how games are priced and released, but one thing's for certain. Genshin Impact is here to stay for a long time."