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Can you play Genshin Impact on PC?

Genshin Impact is one of the most popular games of the past few years, and it’s fully playable on PC. You’ll need to make sure you have a fairly robust rig to run it at max settings, but a modest gaming PC or laptop shouldn’t have an issue running it with a few settings turned down.

Here’s everything you need to know about playing Genshin Impact on PC, along with minimum specs, where to download, and how to stream the game to PC, Mac, and Chromebook.

Further reading

Playing Genshin Impact on PC

Genshin Impact characters in front of a dragon.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Genshin Impact is available on PC along with a bunch of other platforms. This includes:

  • PlayStation 5
  • PlayStation 4
  • iOS
  • Android
  • PC

To get started playing Genshin Impact on PC, simply head over to the official miHoYo website and begin your download by pressing the Windows button at the bottom of the page. You’ll also want to create an account while you’re there, which can be done by clicking the Log In button at the top of the screen, then selecting Register Now.

Minimum PC specs for Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact players standing in a forest.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Genshin Impact isn’t the most demanding game in the world, but you will want a decent GPU if you want to run it on the highest settings. Here are the minimum and recommended PC specs for Genshin Impact, according to miHoYo.

Recommended Configuration

  • Operating system: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit, or Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel Core i7 equivalent or higher
  • Memory: 16GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB and higher
  • DirectX version: 11
  • Storage: 30GB

Minimum Configuration

  • Operating system: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit, or Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 or equivalent
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Graphics card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 1030 and higher
  • DirectX version: 11
  • Storage 30GB

Streaming Genshin Impact on GeForce Now

Genshin Impact player standing on a rock in a lake.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If your rig doesn’t meet the minimum specs for Genshin Impact, fear not — as of June 23, 2022, Genshin Impact is available through GeForce Now. However, it’ll only be streamable on PC, Mac, and Chromebook at launch, with support for other devices possibly rolling out at a later date. If you’re an RTX 3080 member, you’ll be able to run the game in 4K at 60 fps on PC and Mac.

To play Genshin Impact through GeForce Now, first, create an account on the official website. You’ll have three different membership tiers to choose from, although you’ll probably want to start out with the Free plan to make sure it plays well with your setup. Once that’s done, download GeForce Now and search for Genshin Impact in its library.

With that taken care of, you’re free to start gaming. Keep in mind that GeForce Now works best with fast internet connections, and wired connections tend to offer the best performance.

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Jon Bitner
Jon Bitner is a writer covering consumer electronics, technology, and gaming. His work has been published on various websites…
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