![Genshin Impact Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing Controversy Genshin Impact characters in reference to the Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing Controversy.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/mobile/000/050/619/genshin_cover.jpg)
Genshin Impact Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing Controversy
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Overview
Genshin Impact Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing Controversy or Hoyoverse Whitewashing Controversy refers to accusations of cultural appropriation and whitewashing towards the gacha game Genshin Impact, with many online claiming that MiHoYo (the company responsible for Genshin and Honkai: Star Rail) had taken inspiration from indigenous cultures without proper representation and respect. The discussions grew as a viral topic in July 2024 after a trailer for the Natlan nation, a new region of the game purportedly inspired by Africa and Latin America, was posted on social media, causing division in the Genshin fanbase and sparking conversations about character designs and other content related to the game.
Background
On July 5th, 2024, Genshin Impact released a trailer[1] for the game's upcoming new region, the Natlan nation (seen below), which amassed over 1.8 million views and 88,000 likes in two weeks. The new region features canyons, steppes and hills, and while MiHoYo has not officially stated its inspiration behind the nation, many perceived it to be inspired by African and Latin American cultures (similar to how the game already has nations that draw inspiration from France, Japan and more).[8]
A few days after the trailer was released, some Genshin content creators began debating about cultural appropriation and whitewashing for the game's new Natlan nation. One of the earliest viral videos posted about the subject was uploaded on July 10th, 2024, by streamer and TikToker @hobikage_games,[2] who voiced her complaints about the way indigenous and Latin American culture was represented in Natlan (seen below), which amassed more than 241,000 plays and 57,000 likes in a week.
@hobikage_games "it's a Chinese company " yeah and it has international fans đ€š I'm gonna talk about Natlan but lowkey I'm not gonna mention/complain about skin color. I am a Hoyo content creator and I'm not afraid to criticize Genshin Impact. #natlan #genshinstreamer #genshinimpact #hobikage ⏠original sound â Hobikage |âTwitch + Genshin
Developments
Genshin Impact Voice Actors Protest
As the cultural appropriation and whitewashing allegations grew as a viral topic among the Genshin fanbase on X / Twitter, some of the voice actors who worked on the game started to voice their opinions about the matter. For instance, on July 12th, 2024, the voice of the character Sucrose, Valeria RodrĂguez,[3] posted a thread on X writing that "folks of color donât always need to stay quiet & let others fk us over and disrespect us." The tweet (seen below, left) received over 39,000 likes and 8,600 reposts in a week.
On July 13th, the voice actor of Albedo, X[4] user @khoidaooo, tweeted that "people are absolutely within their rights to demand better representation, especially when said game has a clearly-stated commitment to a *global* audience." The post (seen below, right) amassed over 69,000 likes and 16,000 reposts in three days.
![the voice of sucrose, valeria rodrĂguez, commenting on the Genshin controversy Valeria RodrĂguez Jul 12, 2024 @ElvisBadger Follow X I could stay quiet about this & protect myself but us folks of color don't always need to stay quiet & let others fk us over and disrespect us so that we can continue to advance at half the pace of our white peers. 1/2 Valeria RodrĂguez @ElvisBadger Follow If you're going to use real-world deities, RESPECT them. If you're basing off of real cultures, RESPECT THAT. I'm fine with things being inspired by various cultures- that's awesome. Representation is dope. But bare minimum do some research & show some cultural appreciation. 10:37 PM - Jul 12, 2024](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/863/068/191.jpg)
![the voice of albedo, khoi dao, commenting on the Genshin controversy if a game draws so heavily from real- world cultures and bases a character on the supreme deity of Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like pale sasuke batman, people are absolutely within their rights to demand better representation, ESPECIALLY when said game has a clearly-stated commitment to a *global* audience. I hope y'all keeping make your voices heard, and I hope they listen.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/863/069/2e7.jpg)
Stop Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing in MiHoYo Games Petition
On July 7th, 2024, a petition was launched by user Aventurine of Stratagems on Change.org[5] titled âStop Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing in MiHoYo Games.â The petition states, âWe call on MiHoYo to stop cultural appropriation and whitewashing in their games and to commit to respectful and accurate representation of all cultures.â It continues by suggesting that the Chinese company should "engage with indigenous cultural consultants, revise existing content to ensure accurate representation and commit to creating diverse and inclusive characters." As of July 16th, 2024, the petition has accumulated over 63,000 signatures.
![Genshin Impact petition change.org Petition details Comments = III 19227 Stop Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing in MiHoYo Games Started 7 July 2024 Petition to MiHoYo](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/863/084/295.jpg)
Online Reactions
As the controversy continued to spread in July 2024, additional Genshin players started to post more content about the cultural appropriation and whitewashing accusations on social media. For example, on July 14th, 2024, TikTok[6] user @yelanfan3.0 uploaded a video (seen below, left) comparing a dark-skinned character from the gacha game AFK Journey with another character from Genshin Impact. The video amassed over 330,000 plays and 58,000 likes in two days.
On July 15th, 2024, TikTok[7] user @sipsipstefen posted a video talking about how the MiHoYoverse allegations became a mainstream topic within the broader gaming community and gaming journalism outlets (seen below, right), amassing more than 66,000 plays and 14,000 likes in a day.
@yelanfan3.0 see how AFK JOURNEY a game made in SHANGHAI CHINA can actually make a shade darker than light medium sandđ. #seba #yelanfan #natlan #genshinimpact #afkjourney ⏠original sound â â° .
@sipsipstefen #greenscreen HOYOVERSE UPDATE #hoyoverse #genshinimpact #genshinnews #genshinupdate #genshinnatlan #genshindrama ⏠original sound â SipSipStefen
Search Interest
External References
[1] YouTube â Genshin Impact Natlan trailer
[2] TikTok â hobikage_games
[3] X â ElvisBadger
[5] Change.org â Stop Cultural Appropriation and Whitewashing in MiHoYo Games
[6] TikTok â yelanfan3.0
[7] TikTok â sipsipstefen
[8] Inverse â Genshin Impact Voice Actors Join Call for Hoyoverse to Do Better On Representation
Recent Videos
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Top Comments
johnsmith20xx
Jul 16, 2024 at 10:43PM EDT
TheAnt
Jul 16, 2024 at 09:51PM EDT