If you’ve spent any time in HoYoverse fan communities, you’ve almost certainly seen the question pop up: are Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact connected? I’ve spent over 1,200 hours playing Genshin Impact since launch, and another 800 hours grinding Honkai Impact 3rd events over the years, so I’ve lost count of how many tiny cross-game references I’ve stumbled across that most casual players miss. This guide breaks down every confirmed connection, unsubstantiated fan theory, and official statement so you know exactly what’s canon and what’s just fan speculation.
Are Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact Connected in the Same Universe?
The short answer is yes, but not in the direct, linear way you might expect. Both games exist under the Imaginary Tree multiverse framework that HoYoverse first established for Honkai Impact 3rd back in 2017. For anyone unfamiliar with the lore, the Imaginary Tree is the core structure of all existence in HoYoverse games, with each individual “world” existing as a separate leaf on the tree. Each leaf has its own rules, characters, and storylines, but they all belong to the same overarching universe.
That means Genshin’s Teyvat is just one of thousands of alternate worlds that exist alongside the main Honkai Impact 3rd Earth world. They don’t share a direct timeline, and events that happen in one game don’t directly impact events in the other for the most part. This structure lets HoYoverse slip in fun references and cross-over content without forcing players to consume every single game they release to understand the story of the one they love.
I’ve talked to a lot of new players who worry they missed critical backstory for Genshin because they never played Honkai, and that’s simply not the case. The dev team intentionally designed each game’s core plot to stand completely on its own, so you don’t have to do extra homework just to follow along with the Archon Quests.
Shared Character References That Link Both Games
One of the easiest ways to spot the connection between the two games is through shared character concepts and cameos. Most of these are deliberate easter eggs for long-time HoYoverse fans, but a few have actual canonical weight that ties the two worlds together. Some of the most notable confirmed references include:
- Welt Yang lore hints: While he appears as a main character in Honkai: Star Rail, Genshin players have found dialogue references to a "world traveler from another universe with a cane and power over gravity" in Sumeru's Akademiya records, matching Welt's exact description from Honkai Impact 3rd perfectly.
- Yae Miko and Yae Sakura parallels: The pink-haired kitsune shrine maiden design, playful personality, and even Japanese voice actor overlap between Genshin's Yae Miko and Honkai's Yae Sakura are no coincidence, with devs confirming it's a deliberate tribute to the fan-favorite Honkai character.
- "Honkai" disaster easter eggs: Hidden dialogue in Enkanomiya and scattered lore artifacts in Genshin make passing mention of a "corrosive force that consumes all worlds" that lines up exactly with the core Honkai disaster concept that drives the entire plot of Honkai Impact 3rd.
- Recurring developer inside jokes: You'll find recurring gags like the signature "Tuna Onigiri" food item, references to HoYoverse's mascot Ai-chan, and even the same common character naming conventions hidden across both games' limited-time event content.
It’s important to note that most of these references are just fun nods, not critical story beats. You won’t miss anything important about Yae Miko’s role in the Inazuma storyline if you have no idea who Yae Sakura is, for example. These little details are just a little bonus for fans who play multiple HoYoverse titles.
There are also a lot of fan theories about other shared character designs, like the visual similarities between Genshin’s Venti and Honkai’s Wendy, but most of these have not been confirmed by the dev team as intentional references. It’s best to only treat the explicitly confirmed links as canon.
Official HoYoverse Statements on the Cross-Game Link
HoYoverse has been pretty transparent about the connection between the two games over the years, so you don’t have to rely solely on fan theories to get answers. In a 2021 developer interview, the team confirmed that all their games exist within the same HoYoverse multiverse framework, but each is designed to be a fully standalone experience first and foremost.
They explicitly stated that they will never lock critical story content for one game behind having played another. That means you never have to grind through 6 years of Honkai Impact 3rd story content to understand what’s happening in Genshin’s Archon Quests, no matter what random fan theories you see on social media. The team also confirmed that official cross-over events, like the 2021 collab that put Genshin’s Fischl and Eula into Honkai Impact 3rd as playable characters, are considered non-canon for both games unless stated otherwise.
So many people misinterpret these cross-over events as proof that the two worlds directly interact regularly, but that’s not the case. Most of these events are just fun, limited-time content for fans, not official canon that changes the core story of either game. The devs have repeatedly said they want to respect the individual identity of each game’s world and cast.
What This Connection Actually Means for Players
You might be wondering if any of this actually matters for your gameplay experience, and the answer depends entirely on what you get out of playing these games. If you’re just here for the open-world exploration, fun character builds, and casual story content, you can completely ignore all the cross-game references and have a perfectly good time. The core Genshin story is designed to be fully understandable without any prior Honkai knowledge, and that will never change.
If you’re the type of player who loves digging into deep lore and hunting for hidden easter eggs though, the shared universe is a ton of fun. You’ll spot little references everywhere once you know what to look for, and it adds an extra layer of enjoyment to both games. Don’t get caught up in unconfirmed fan theories though, because a lot of the wilder claims you see online (like “the Honkai will invade Teyvat at the end of Genshin”) have already been explicitly denied by the dev team.
If you’ve only played one of the two games and are curious about trying the other, go in with reasonable expectations. Honkai Impact 3rd is a fast-paced action game with a much darker, more linear story, while Genshin is a slow, relaxed open world game. They share lore connections, but their gameplay loops are almost nothing alike, so don’t go into Honkai expecting the same experience you get from Genshin.
One thing I will say is that if you love HoYoverse’s writing style, you’ll probably enjoy both games regardless of the gameplay differences. The team is really good at creating memorable, emotionally resonant characters, and that shines through in every title they release.
At the end of the day, are Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact connected? They share the same overarching multiverse framework, plenty of fun easter eggs, and occasional cross-over content, but their core stories are completely separate and accessible for all players regardless of their experience with other HoYoverse titles. You don’t have to play both to enjoy either, but if you do, you’ll get to enjoy a ton of little fun details that casual players will miss. Next time you’re exploring Teyvat, keep an eye out for those tiny Honkai references hidden in the world — you might be surprised how many you find now that you know what to look for.