Genshin Impact tests cloud version on mobile to save storage space
HoYoverse, the company behind Genshin Impact, is testing a cloud version of Genshin Impact on Android devices in Singapore and Malaysia, for which it’s currently seeking test participants. Users in the area have received an in-game message asking them to fill out a recruitment survey to take part in the test.
“Genshin Impact – Cloud is a cloud version of HoYoverse’s Genshin Impact. Real-time cloud technology allows you to enjoy high graphics and high frame rates without having to download Genshin Impact’s full game package,” the message reads.
Genshin Impact is an open-world RPG available for iOS and Android devices, but also for PC, PS4, and PS5. The game is steadily growing in scope with additional characters, regions, and features being added in regular updates arriving every six weeks. Naturally, that also leads to a growing demand for storage on whichever device you’re playing on, which is starting to become critical for the mobile version.
Android and iOS users had to download an update package of around 3GB for the current 3.5 version of the game, with overall storage demand now adding up to 25GB – a massive amount of space for smartphones despite the technological progress in that area. After all, most people don’t just use their device to play one game and need storage space for other apps and data as well. This could become a big problem for Genshin Impact relatively soon and is definitely not sustainable in the long run at the current growth pace.
Streaming Genshin Impact to players’ phones through the cloud seems to be HoYoverse’s answer to this problem.
Genshin Impact is already available through NVIDIA GeForce NOW as a streamed game on PC as well as iOS and Android devices, though it seems like HoYoverse wants to get its own cloud streaming service in place for the game instead of completely relying on an external partner.
Cloud streaming might also be the answer to Genshin Impact’s long-awaited Nintendo Switch version, which has been stuck in development for years now. Though some crafty users have been able to run the Android version of Genshin Impact on hacked Nintendo Switch consoles at playable frame rates, the platform’s limited storage capacity is another obstacle that might hinder a Switch version from being practical.
