Leaker claims Genshin Impact studio is building Animal Crossing-like game

According to a leaker, HoYoverse, the studio behind Genshin Impact, is developing a competitor to Nintendo’s ever-popular Animal Crossing.

Rumblings about HoYoverse’s next project began circulating several weeks ago, courtesy of details shared by leaker and Twitter user UBatcha.

The insider claimed to have heard word that the studio currently has its hands busy with a “casual simulation-style game.” Naturally, this led to many assuming The Sims would serve as a source of inspiration.

And the leaker agreed, noting that Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley also constitute casual simulation experiences that HoYoverse could use for reference. Now yet another has come forward with cursory details about the alleged project.

Are Genshin Impact devs making an Animal Crossing competitor?

On June 21, Twitch streamer SipSipStefen shared a first glimpse at HoYoverse’s rumored life sim. The Twitter post has since been subject to a copyright strike, meaning the image is no longer visible.

But the streamer’s caption suggests the image teased a “direct Animal Crossing competitor.”

The copyright strike may give credence to the since-removed picture’s legitimacy, yet, as always, it’s best to take leaked information with a grain of salt. HoYoverse itself remains silent about the supposed life sim project.

Still, at the very least, the claim that Genshin Impact creators may be working on an Animal Crossing-esque adventure supports the aforementioned report from UBatcha.

If and when HoYoverse plans on revealing such an endeavor is anyone’s guess. And, of course, the studio already has its hands full with ongoing support for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.

The latter launched earlier this year and quickly broke Genshin Impact records by accumulating 20 million downloads in a single day.