As Honkai: Star Rail turns one, we look back on the Genshin Impact successor that might just outshine its blockbuster older sibling

One year in, Honkai: Star Rail clearly isn’t about to eclipse Genshin Impact in terms of player numbers or even revenue.

For one thing, Genshin is helmed by a different lead producer to the person responsible for overseeing both Honkai: Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd, which might easily account for why the Honkai games’ player incentives resemble one another but differ from Genshin’s.

Somewhat controversially, Honkai: Star Rail has also so far featured more generous special rewards than Genshin Impact, which has been consistently criticised throughout its lifespan for being stingy compared to other, similar gacha games, including the Honkai series.