Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, & other Mihoyo games may come to Steam and Steam Deck

Mihoyo, a favorite developer among gacha game players who favor anime aesthetics and 3D action games, is planting seeds for potential Steam ports of Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and its other staple "Hoyoverse" titles. While an official announcement is yet to come, Kazuleaks noticed that the latest Genshin Impact update on PC now contains a steam_api64.dll application extension file which indicates internal testing for Steam integration. Additionally, Redditor u/hzy980512 identified several Steam-related login strings on Mihoyo's account webpage which lend further credence to more Hoyoverse games coming to Steam.

Considering the sheer popularity of Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and other Hoyoverse titles on mobile platforms and PC (via the Epic Games Launcher or Mihoyo's own launcher), proper Steam support would be a major boon for these games and their respective fanbases. Unofficially, both of the above mentioned games have already been made playable on Steam Deck and SteamOS via Proton-GE and the Heroic Games Launcher, though Honkai: Star Rail has proven more difficult to configure. Plus, since these games require an active Internet connection, handheld gamers may be forced to tether to a mobile hotspot or use public Wi-Fi in order to play the games away from home. Additionally, some mouse input is required to launch the games before gamepad input can be used, which could make a Steam Deck Verified tag more elusive unless Mihoyo optimizes the games for controller-only launching and playing through Steam.

In any case, Steam Deck and handheld gaming PCs like it are easily more powerful than the minimum smartphone specifications required to play Hoyoverse games, and players willing to jump through the extra hoops have already reported good performance at 720p-800p on Steam Deck in these titles. Considering how strongly these games favor gamepad input versus touchscreen controls, an official Steam port would quickly result in Steam Deck and other PC handhelds being one of the definitive ways to play these games.