Looking for more information about the new characters coming to Genshin Impact? Since its release in 2020, the addictive anime game has seen plenty of regular updates expanding on the game’s content – and adding several new characters by way of limited time banners.
According to Mihoyo’s Genshin Impact roadmap, they aim to release new updates every six weeks – and if past experience is anything to go by, during each new patch, there will be at least one new banner with a new Genshin Impact five-star character, and possible new four-star characters included as well. That said, several new Genshin Impact characters have been added outside of this schedule, like Genshin Impact Klee – so we could see new characters arrive unexpectedly, too.
We expect to see at least one new character arrive as part of the Genshin Impact 1.6 update – the Kazuha banner will be the second banner after the Klee rerun. There are also a few leaks and some datamined information concerning new characters that may appear in future Genshin Impact updates and beyond. However, until they’re officially announced, these characters are not final and may be subject to changes.
The new and upcoming Genshin Impact characters are:
Genshin Impact new characters in 1.6
Kazuha
Kaedehara Kazuha is the next new Genshin Impact character; an Anemo user who wields a sword, like a samurai. Datamined information leads us to believe he may arrive in the Genshin Impact 1.6 update.
Kazuha’s abilities are already available, so we’ve put together a Kazuha banner guide where you’ll find information on his release date and abilities.
Genshin Impact new characters in 1.7 and beyond
Kamisato Ayaka
Ayaka is a Cryo Sword user, and was playable during the first closed beta test. She’s the princess of the Kamisato House, and her profile was previously briefly available on the official Genshin Impact website, under the Monstadt section, but was later removed. It looks like she may be released soon, as the Genshin Impact twitter account has revealed her official character art.
The current fan theory is that the Genshin Impact Ayaka release date will coincide with the release of the Inazuma region, an island nation inspired by Japan. This could mean Ayaka will be released in the 1.7 update. We’ve got an Ayaka banner and abilities guide where you can find out more.
Yoimiya ‧ Frolicking Flames
Owner of Naganohara Fireworks#GenshinImpact pic.twitter.com/vqqpz8dcWo
— Paimon (@GenshinImpact) June 7, 2021
Yoimiya
Yoimiya also has ties to the Inazuma region, and may possibly be tied to Kamisato Ayaka, appearing in some of her leaked voicelines. She is a Pyro character with a bow. Some code referencing Yoimiya has recently been discovered, leading to speculation that she will also arrive in the 1.7 update.
Sayu
Sayu is an adorable ninja who wears a tanuki suit. Her official title, ‘Mujina Ninja’, is a Japanese term that is used to refer to either the tanuki or the Japanese badger. She’s an Anemo Claymore user – she looks a little small to be swinging a Claymore around, but we’re sure she’ll do a great job. Mihoyo has officially announced her in a tweet, which might suggest that she will arrive alongside Yoimiya and Ayaka in the 1.7 update.
[2.0 Render] – Gorou, Geo Bow (Rarity Unknown)
Custom render with "Dreams of Dragonfell".Info in the post is subject to change.#ProjectCelestia pic.twitter.com/keuz36nefa
— Project Celestia (@projectcelestia) June 7, 2021
Gorou
Gorou is another character from Inazuma – he also features in Kazuha’s voice lines. He’s a Geo Bow user, and has adorable ears and a swishy tail. Fans are already eagerly awaiting his release.
[2.0 Render] Characters of Inazuma –
We couldn't fit Sayu and Ayaka on here, sorry 😆We do not know if "Kokomi" has replaced "Mimi" or if she is a brand new character.
All of these are subject to change. #ProjectCelestia pic.twitter.com/UVMqvMswtl
— Project Celestia (@projectcelestia) June 7, 2021
Tohma
Tohma (or Tohama, or possibly Touma) was revealed in a tweet by NEP NEP; we think he could be a five-star Pyro Polearm wielder from Inazuma, but information is scarce at this point. He features in some of Ayaka’s leaked voice lines. There is some speculation that he will also be arriving in the 1.7 update.
Yae
Yae was seen in the Chinese 1.5 Special Program. She’s the priest in charge of the Grand Narukami Shrine in Inazuma. She appears to be a Catalyst electro user.
SARA
Sara is reportedly an Electro Bow user, presumably from Inazuma. We don’t know too much about her yet.
Raiden Shogun
Raiden Shogun, otherwise known as Baal, may be an Electro Polearm character. She is the Electro Archon, a member of The Seven, and Shogun of the Inazuma Bakufu. She seems relatively arrogant and self-important, based on descriptions of her by other characters.
Kokomi: Left || Mimi: Right
Differences in the 2 models.
We do not know if "Mimi", was 100% scrapped or modified to create "Kokomi".#ProjectCelestia pic.twitter.com/R0LswI75BY
— Project Celestia (@projectcelestia) June 7, 2021
Mimi/Kokomi
Mimi is another Inazuma denizen. She’s a Hydro Catalyst wielder, and she may turn out to be a four-star character when she finally releases. Recent leaks have uncovered a character called Kokomi, who shares many similarities with Mimi, leading fans to believe she may be the same character.
Aloy
Genshin Impact dataminer Dimbreath has found “barebones” data referring to a Cryo Bow user by the name of Aloy. We don’t know any more about her yet, and the name may be a placeholder.
Dainsleif
Dainsleif, the Bough Keeper, was officially announced by Mihoyo during the Tokyo Game Show – however, no release date was attached. His voice actor has been announced, but other than a potential side quest involving Dainsleif popping up in 1.3, we have no indication of when he might arrive.
Dainsleif is from Khaenri’ah, an underground realm that is not part of Teyvat itself – so perhaps one day in the future we’ll meet Dainsleif when we explore his homeland.
Yunjin
Yunjin is an NPC from Liyue; a dancer, singer, and brewer who works at the Heyu Tea House. We know very little else about her – leaks allege that she will be a Geo Polearm user, so we’re guessing she’ll be a four-star character.
Yaoyao
Yaoyao is an adorable NPC who is mentioned in several characters’ voice lines. She was previously Xiangling’s junior when they both studied under the same master chef, but has now become an assistant for Genshin Impact Ganyu.
She features in the official art above, which may also give us a few hints on when she might join us in-game. The art depicts Yaoyao with Qiqi at the Mid-Autumn Festival – so her release may coincide with a festival of some kind. She’s been datamined as a four-star Dendro Catalyst user, which is intriguing, as we don’t currently have any Dendro users available yet.
Kate is a Electro Sword Character.
Sayu, the little one. Is a Anemo Claymore character. pic.twitter.com/7t5ja3uWCk— Zeniet (@Zeniiet) October 20, 2020
Kate
Alongside Sayu, the other new character model showcased in the above tweet is purportedly Kate, an Electro Sword user from Mondstadt. That’s all we know about her for now, but we’ll let you know if we acquire more information.
Shenhe
Players initially believed this character was called Shenli, which is actually the Chinese reading of Ayaka’s name. However, Shenhe means god crane – so some players believe that Shenhe may be the human form of Cloud Retainer, an Adeptus NPC who lives on Mt. Aozang in Liyue. Allegedly, she’ll be a Cryo Claymore user.
Baizhu
Baizhu is a Genshin Impact NPC, and is the owner of Bubu Pharmacy in Liyue. He possesses a Dendro vision, which has led fans to believe that he may one day be a playable character – though we’ll have to wait for the full implementation of Dendro into the elemental reactions chart.
Cyno
Cyno was revealed in the Teyvat chapter storyline preview video – he’s a Polearm wielder from Sumeru, one of the future Genshin Impact regions we’ll be visiting in later updates.
Collei
Collei is a character from Sumeru in the Genshin Impact official manga. She was imbued with Archon residue by the seer Barnabus, but was aided by Cyno and Amber to suppress it.
Lyney and Lynette
Lyney and Lynette were revealed in the same storyline preview video – they’re a pair of twins, presumably, who are dressed like magicians – they hail from Fontaine, a region inspired by France. There’s speculation that they could be recruited as a pair and can switch places with one another in battle – though that may be nothing more than a cool idea.
Iansan
Iansan was also revealed in the Teyvat Chapter Storyline video, in the Natlan section. We believe she’s a Pyro user, but we’ll have to wait until we visit Natlan to find out more about her.
Signora
La Signora is No. 8 of the Eleven Harbingers of the Fatui, a military force from the Russia-inspired Snezhnaya region. We meet her at the end of Act 3 of the Prologue, and she’s particularly villainous – fans are hoping that, since we’ve seen her carrying a Catalyst, she may become a playable character some time in the future.
Scaramouche
Scaramouche is No. 6 of the Fatui’s Eleven Harbingers; he introduces himself as a ‘vagrant from Inazuma’ who attempts to betray and kill the Traveller during the Unreconciled Stars event: Star of Destiny. Players believe that he will eventually be a playable character, and speculate that he may be a Electro Catalyst user.
Dottore
Il Dottore is another of the Eleven Harbingers. His name means ‘The Doctor’, but based on his appearance in the official manga, he’s more interested in using people for research and experimentation.
Pulcinella
Pulcinella is the 5th of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers – all that is known about them is that they conscripted Tartaglia into the Fatui after he re-emerged from the Abyss.
These are all the new Genshin Impact characters that we believe have a reasonable chance of turning up in game, but as we learn more about the Genshin Impact lore, we’ll add new candidates as we discover them. Enough wishful thinking – time to focus on the characters you’ve already got; here are the best Genshin Impact characters for beginners, and the best Genshin Impact weapons to kit them out with.
