Mods are an increasingly popular part of gaming, and miHoYo’s Genshin Impact seems perfect for modders. With its open-world environments and dozens of playable characters (with more being added to the game’s roster on a regular basis), mods could work really well. But do mods for Genshin Impact actually exist – and do they really work?
Genshin Impact is free-to-play with gacha mechanics and premium passes available. The game has remained incredibly popular in 2021, and Genshin Impact had an estimated 40 million players by the end of 2020. The game is currently available on mobile devices, PlayStation 4 and 5, and PC – with a long-awaited Nintendo Switch version presumably still in the works. Like most PC games, this means it’s theoretically possible to create mods for Genshin Impact; however, this comes with a few caveats, and installing mods for Genshin Impact is not nearly as easy as it is for a game like Skyrim.
While other breakout hits last year on PC, such as Among Us, have seen a rise in mods for custom games and new roles, these elements have largely been missing from Genshin Impact. Many of Genshin Impact’s mods which have been released so far have been private, meaning most fans don’t have access to the mods and can’t use them themselves. Many other Genshin Impact mods that have appeared online have been removed quickly or still give the impressions that they are relatively unsafe to download. There’s actually a really good reason for the lack of available public mods – it’s because miHoYo doesn’t want players using mods in Genshin Impact.
Why Genshin Impact Doesn’t Let Players Use Mods
Mods in Genshin Impact seem like a great idea, but miHoYo has a strict zero-tolerance policy when it comes to using third-party software. Players caught using third-party software – which includes mods – will be banned from Genshin Impact. In fact, many players have reported being banned from the game already for trying to use Genshin Impact PC mods. Because of this, most Genshin Impact mods which have been created thus far are kept private, this way the people who use them reduce the risk of getting themselves banned.
For most players, the risk of getting caught using mods outweighs the desire to actually use them. This is the main reason mods in Genshin Impact don’t really exist in a public sense. Understandably, a lot of players don’t want to risk getting banned from the game while losing their progress, characters, and weapons from gacha pulls. There are very few characters in Genshin Impact that are free, so getting banned could mean wasting real-world money that was spent on gacha pulls. Until miHoYo changes its policy on third-party software (which doesn’t seem likely), public mods in Genshin Impact won’t really be possible.
Sadly, this means players won’t be able to add custom cosmetics to their favorite characters or change any real gameplay elements. While it’s certainly possible to make mods for Genshin Impact, using them can get players banned. So, it’s best to just avoid using mods in the game – no matter how enticing the idea might seem.
