Running a live-service game comes with its own unique set of challenges. With the constant need to push new content and maintain a visually modern presentation, such games naturally evolve to demand increasingly powerful hardware. These challenges become even more pronounced when a title spans multiple console generations, where performance disparities can significantly affect the gameplay experience. For Genshin Impact, this growing demand has led HoYoVerse to make a difficult but necessary decision regarding support for PlayStation 4.
In an official post on its HoYoLab blog, HoYoVerse announced that it will be ending support for the game on the PlayStation 4. As expected, the studio cited hardware limitations as the main reason behind the move, with many modern titles having faced the same issues as well.
Genshin Impact on the PS4 and PS4 Pro
Both the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 4 Pro are increasingly struggling to keep up with the game’s expanding scope, both in terms of performance and file size. HoYoVerse explained that, given these limitations, it has opted to discontinue support on the ageing platform so that focus can be put on more modern avenues.
Players who wish to continue their journey on PlayStation consoles are encouraged to migrate to the PlayStation 5, where they can continue their progress.
The support ending will not happen overnight. HoYoVerse has outlined a three-step timeline for the deprecation process:
- September 10, 2025: Genshin Impact will be removed from the PlayStation Store on PS4.
- February 25, 2026: The in-game shop for the platform will be shut down.
- April 8, 2026: Full support for Genshin Impact on the console will officially end.
At this time, HoYoVerse has not disclosed how many players will be affected by the decision. Nevertheless, this move marks a significant shift in the game’s platform strategy as it continues to evolve and optimise for newer hardware.
