If you’ve ever spent hours gliding across sunlit plains, climbing snowy mountain peaks, or dodging hilichurl attacks while chasing a stray seelie, you’ve probably wondered where does Genshin Impact take place at least once. The game’s sprawling, vibrant world feels so lived-in, with its own history, conflicts, and cultures that stretch back thousands of years, it’s easy to forget it’s a fictional setting crafted for players to explore. I’ve spent over 400 hours roaming every corner of the map since launch, and I’ve dug through every side quest, artifact description, and hidden lore note to break down exactly what this world is, how it works, and what regions are still coming in future updates.
What Is the Core World Where Genshin Impact Takes Place?
The entire core story of Genshin Impact unfolds across the continent of Teyvat, a land shaped by elemental magic, divine rule, and ancient cataclysms. Unlike many generic fantasy settings, Teyvat follows a clear internal logic tied to the seven elements: Anemo (wind), Geo (earth), Electro (lightning), Dendro (nature), Hydro (water), Pyro (fire), and Cryo (ice). Every part of the world, from the weather patterns to the abilities of local enemies, ties back to this elemental system.
Each nation in Teyvat is ruled by an Archon, a god who holds authority over one of the seven elements and a seat on the Seven, the collective governing body of the continent. Archons are tasked with guiding their people and upholding the rules set by the Heavenly Principles, the mysterious divine force that controls Teyvat from above. Not all parts of the world fall under Archon rule though, and many hidden areas hold remnants of civilizations that defied the gods hundreds or thousands of years ago.
The main story follows the Traveler, an interdimensional being who was trapped in Teyvat after an unknown god attacked them and stole their sibling. Your core goal as you play is to travel across all seven nations to find your lost sibling, and uncover the truth about Teyvat’s hidden history along the way. It’s not just a simple fetch quest either, as every Archon quest reveals more about the dark secrets the gods of Teyvat have been hiding from their people.
The Released Regions of Teyvat You Can Explore Right Now
As of current updates, six of the seven main nations of Teyvat are fully playable, with a seventh coming in future updates. Each region has its own unique visual style, cultural references, quest lines, and exclusive resources you’ll need to ascend your characters and craft weapons. You can find a breakdown of each accessible area below:
- Mondstadt: The first region you unlock, themed after Anemo (wind), inspired by medieval Germany and Nordic cultures. It’s home to the Wind Archon Barbatos, and features rolling grasslands, steep mountain cliffs, and a lake surrounding its main city.
- Liyue: The Geo (earth) region, inspired by traditional Chinese culture, ruled by the Geo Archon Morax. It’s known for its bustling harbor, steep karst mountains, and ancient ruins dating back to the Archon War.
- Inazuma: The Electro (lightning) region, a chain of islands inspired by feudal Japan, ruled by the Electro Archon Raiden Shogun. It features stormy coasts, vibrant cherry blossom forests, and strict isolationist policies that shaped its recent history.
- Sumeru: The Dendro (nature) region, inspired by a mix of South Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African cultures, ruled by the Dendro Archon Lesser Lord Kusanali. It’s split between dense rainforests and arid deserts, and is known as the academic capital of Teyvat.
- Fontaine: The Hydro (water) region, inspired by early 20th century France, ruled by the Hydro Archon Furina (before the events of the Archon quest). It’s built on a series of floating islands above an endless ocean, and prioritizes justice and performance as core cultural values.
- Natlan: The Pyro (fire) region, the latest released area as of current updates, inspired by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican and West African cultures, ruled by the Pyro Archon Murata. It’s home to active volcanoes, tropical jungles, and a culture centered around battle and community.
You’ll unlock these regions in order as you progress through the main Archon quest, with each area raising the recommended adventure rank to explore safely. If you try to rush to a higher level region too early, you’ll run into enemies that can one-shot your party, so it’s best to follow the quest line until you get the prompt to travel to the next nation. I made that mistake once when I first started, trying to glide all the way to Inazuma before I finished the Liyue Archon quest, and I got struck by a thunder barrier that sent me straight back to Mondstadt’s coast. Don’t repeat my error.
Hidden Areas Outside the Main Nations You Might Not Know About
Teyvat has far more to explore than just the seven main nations, and many of the game’s most interesting lore bits are hidden in unmarked or secret areas you can only unlock through side quests. Enkanomiya is one of the most popular hidden areas, an underwater realm beneath Inazuma that was home to a human civilization long before the Archons took control of Teyvat. It has its own day-night cycle, unique enemies, and lore that reveals the truth about how humans first came to the continent.
The Chasm is another massive hidden area, an abandoned mine on the western edge of Liyue that was once used to harvest rare Geo materials. It’s filled with ancient ruins tied to Khaenri’ah, the godless civilization that was destroyed by the Heavenly Principles 500 years before the start of the game. You’ll need to complete a short side quest to unlock access to the underground parts of The Chasm, but it’s well worth the effort for the exclusive rewards and lore reveals you’ll find there.
There are also small, unmarked areas scattered across the map that don’t belong to any nation, like the storm-battered Dragonspine mountain between Mondstadt and Liyue, and the abandoned ruins in the northern part of the Sumeru desert that hold remnants of Khaenri’ah. Many of these areas are tied to limited-time event quests, but they stay accessible permanently after the event ends, so you don’t have to worry about missing out if you don’t play during the event run.
Outside of Teyvat itself, there are references to the Dark Sea, a vast, uncharted area surrounding the continent that is said to be filled with monsters and ancient, forgotten gods that lost the Archon War thousands of years ago. A small number of playable characters are also confirmed to be from worlds completely outside of Teyvat, so we may even get to explore other dimensions in future updates as the story progresses.
What Regions Are Still Coming to Teyvat in Future Updates?
The only remaining main nation of Teyvat that hasn’t been released yet is Snezhnaya, the Cryo (ice) region ruled by the Tsaritsa, the Cryo Archon and leader of the Fatui organization that acts as the main antagonistic force for most of the early game. Snezhnaya is inspired by pre-Soviet Russian culture, and early hints from NPCs and Fatui character dialogue suggest it’s a cold, industrialized nation with a sharp divide between the wealthy ruling class and poor working class.
After Snezhnaya is released, the devs have confirmed we’ll get to explore large parts of Khaenri’ah as part of the end of the main Archon quest line. We’ve already seen small snippets of Khaenri’ah in cutscenes and limited quest areas, but the full destroyed civilization will be playable once all seven Archon quests are complete. There’s also strong evidence we’ll get to explore parts of the Dark Sea, and possibly even the realm where the Heavenly Principles reside, after the main story wraps up.
If you want to get early hints about what future regions will look like, pay attention to throwaway lines from NPCs, artifact lore, and description text for cooking ingredients and ascension materials. For example, we knew Natlan would have a heavy focus on combat and warrior culture almost three years before it released, thanks to lines from characters like Xinyan and Xiangling who mentioned visiting the nation for performances and cooking ingredients. You can also pick up hints from Fatui NPCs about what life is like in Snezhnaya, long before the region launches.
You don’t have to go digging for these hints if you don’t want to though, as every region is designed to feel fresh and surprising even if you know nothing about it ahead of time. The devs are very good at adding unexpected twists to each nation’s story, so even if you think you know what to expect from Snezhnaya based on existing lore, you’ll almost certainly be surprised when it actually releases.
At the end of the day, the answer to where does Genshin Impact take place is far more detailed than just “a fantasy world” – it’s a carefully crafted continent with thousands of years of history, diverse cultures, and hidden secrets waiting for you to uncover. Every new region adds more depth to the world, and even after hundreds of hours of play, I still find new hidden notes, side quests, and small details I missed on my first playthrough. Take your time as you explore each area, and don’t rush through the main quest without stopping to talk to NPCs or dig into hidden ruins – you’ll get far more out of the game if you let yourself get lost in Teyvat every once in a while.