Is Genshin Impact Pay-to-Win in 2025?
Genshin Impact remains one of the most popular open-world action RPGs in 2025, but its monetization model continues to spark debate over whether it is pay-to-win. While free-to-play players can access nearly all game content, spending real money on Primogems and Fates undeniably accelerates character collection and builds optimization. The core question is whether paying confers an insurmountable advantage in endgame content, or simply speeds progression without fundamentally altering the experience for dedicated free players.
Understanding Pay-to-Win in Genshin Impact
Pay-to-win describes a game where players who spend money gain a decisive edge over non-spenders, often making success unattainable without payments. In Genshin Impact, all characters and weapons are obtainable through the gacha “Wish” system, which relies on randomized pulls with a pity guarantee. Free players earn a limited number of Primogems through quests, events, and Battle Pass tiers, capping at roughly 100 Fates per month without purchasing Blessing of the Welkin Moon or Battle Pass.
However, the game’s design ensures that premium purchases accelerate access to top-tier characters and weapons, which can be crucial in high-difficulty Spiral Abyss floors. By contrast, skilled free players can still clear most content, albeit at a slower pace and with potentially less optimized team compositions.
Gacha Mechanics and the Pity System
Genshin Impact’s gacha system uses both hard and soft pity to guarantee rare drops within a set number of pulls. On character banners, players are guaranteed a 5-star character within 90 Wishes, with “soft pity” increasing drop rates after 74 pulls. Additionally, the “50/50” mechanic gives a 50% chance to obtain the featured character when a 5-star appears, and if the player loses the 50/50, the next 5-star is guaranteed to be the featured character.
This system mitigates the randomness to an extent, ensuring that patient players eventually secure their desired characters without endless spending. Yet, reaching pity requires significant resources: at a base cost of 160 Primogems per single pull, hitting 90 pulls demands 14,400 Primogems, or roughly $140 if bought at standard rates, making full pity runs a costly proposition for non-spenders.
Impact of Spending in 2025
In 2025, new characters continue to raise power ceilings, and seasonal events introduce strong 5-star units with powerful kits. Players who invest real money can more quickly field meta teams and refine constellations—additional character duplicates that can dramatically boost performance. For example, securing both promotional 5-star characters in a banner could cost up to $475, depending on luck, reflecting the high ceiling for heavy spenders.
Nonetheless, Genshin’s cooperative content balances player roles, allowing free-to-play users to contribute meaningfully alongside paying friends. World exploration, story quests, and character trials remain fully accessible without purchasing, preserving the core gameplay loop for all players.
FTC Settlement and Transparency Updates
In January 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined HoYoverse $20 million for misleading gacha odds and selling loot boxes to minors without proper consent. Following the settlement, Genshin Impact’s version 5.6 introduced clearer disclaimers, an in-game Fate calculator, and explicit cost ranges—revealing that a single event-exclusive 5-star character can cost between $1.98 and $475.20 depending on pity and luck. These measures aim to reduce deceptive practices and empower players to make informed spending decisions.
