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Genshin Impact has been on the Epic Games Store for about six months, but due to a recent change, Cognosphere is now listed as the game's publisher.
Predictably, many Genshin Impact fans are curious about the Cognosphere transfer. miHoYo had been the game's publisher and developer since the game's inception, but it appears that they've now passed along the publishing duties.
Genshin Impact changes their Epic Games Store publisher from miHoYo to Cognosphere
Cognosphere PTE. LTE. is a company based in Singapore that is now Genshin Impact's publisher on the Epic Games Store. Cognosphere has also taken over the publishing duties of other miHoYo titles, including Tears of Themis.
miHoYo will still be the developer for Genshin Impact and the other games transferred to Cognosphere. Therefore, players should expect in-game features to remain unchanged in light of the publisher change.
In a HoYoLAB article, Genshin Impact mentions the Cognosphere transfer and promises to maintain quality publishing. However, miHoYo is yet to say why this transfer has taken place. A popular rumor regarding the matter suggests that miHoYo is trying to avoid government regulations as they continue to build and expand their game library.
Rumors suggest Chinese censorship led to the Cognosphere transition
If rumors are true, Genshin Impact has made the Cognosphere transfer in response to Chinese censorship. China's government has implemented strict rules on video games over the past year. They now oppose same-s*x relationships displayed in video games, and the same goes for male characters with a feminine appearance.
Genshin Impact has several male characters with feminine designs, so Chinese censorship may be an obstacle for creating such characters in future updates. As Genshin Impact and other miHoYo titles are now published by a Singapore-based company, they may be working to escape these regulations.
Another theory for the publisher change is that their games will now be able to connect more with third party payment platforms. Regardless of the reason for the change, it seems evident that miHoYo is essentially the parent company to Cognosphere.
Regarding the future of Genshin Impact, some players suspect more free rewards due to the Cognosphere transfer. China has limited big in-game rewards, as they don't want video games to incentivize the youth. Nevertheless, it's uncertain whether miHoYo games will actually offer bigger rewards just because they can.
Other miHoYo games like Honkai Impact 3rd are rumored to transition to Cognosphere as well. Fans of these games should keep an eye out for publisher changes in the coming weeks.
