Want to know about new Genshin Impact characters? During each new update, there’s usually at least one brand-new playable character introduced to the roster. They typically appear on event banners with increased drop rates, including one five-star character and three four-star characters.
While we know which characters are likely to appear on the next Genshin Impact banners, some characters featured in this guide might not be playable right now, but they can still be found in Genshin Impact. We’ve also included some characters who are rumored to join the free PC game down the line, but may not have an in-game model just yet. While none of this information is official until Hoyoverse says otherwise, here’s a round-up of all the current rumors and speculation.
The new and upcoming Genshin Impact characters are:
Genshin Impact 4.8 characters
Emilie
Announced before the launch of the 4.7 update on the Genshin Impact X account (formerly known as Twitter), Emilie is the latest Dendro character to join the cast of characters. Emilie’s title is “A Thousand Scents Traced”, a reference to her passion for flowers and perfumes, and this shouldn’t come as a surprise given her elemental vision. She is set to join the game during the second set of banners in the 4.8 update.
Upcoming Genshin Impact characters
Mavuika
Mavuika, the Pyro Archon has finally been revealed in the Ignition Teaser video that was published on July 12. Mavuika, along with most of the new characters in this list, comes from Natlan.
Xilonen
Other than her name, the only thing we can assume about Xilonen is that she uses a Geo Vision.
Chasca
Chasca appears to buck the trend of matching the color of Vision to your element, as she is rumored to be a Cyro character.
Citlali
Citlali bares a strong resemblance to Keqing, another Electro user. Citlali’s English voice actor is Skyler Davenport, the same as March 7th in Honkai Star Rail.
Ororon
Looking tall and mysterious, we don’t know much about Ororon apart from his name right now.
Kinich
Three new characters from Natlan were revealed at the end of the Genshin Impact 4.8 livestream. The Ignition teaser revealed this Dendro Claymore user as Kinich. We get a glimpse of his Dendro abilities, allowing him to transform into a glowing state where he’s able to move through the air.
Mualani
This Hydro Catalyst user is named Mualani. We also know she has access to a cute little shark that she can break out when she’s around water. This shark can swim across the water, allowing the girl to travel across the ocean faster than every character in the game.
Kachina
Finally, this Geo Polearm user is called Kachina. Kachina is seen travelling around using a spinning top of some sort. This vehicle can move across the ground and even climb mountainous surfaces as it digs into the cliff edge. Featuring a drill, this spinning top can break through weak surfaces, revealing new areas.
Varka
Said to be the strongest person in Mondstadt, Varka is the Grand Master and Knight of Boreas, a subsection of the Knights of Favonius. As with most of the upcoming Genshin Impact characters, there’s no telling when Varka is likely to become available. Varka has been referenced by several characters over the course of Genshin Impact’s story, but he doesn’t have an in-game model. Varka is currently away on an expedition, leaving Jean in charge of the Knights of Favonius.
Dainsleif
Dainsleif, the Bough Keeper, was officially announced by Hoyoverse during the 2020 Tokyo Game Show – however, no release date was attached. His voice actor has been announced, but 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.
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. According to Plum Team Leaks, Arlecchino can handle multiple enemies at once and that she’s been referred to as “Big Hutao”. This could mean she needs to take a certain amount of damage before she can show her true potential.
These are all the new Genshin Impact characters that, we believe, have a reasonable chance of turning up in the gacha game sometime in the future – we’ll add new candidates as we discover them. Meanwhile, check out everything coming in the Genshin Impact 5.0 update, and don’t forget to claim the latest Genshin Impact codes for free primogems.