Genshin Impact called out for ‘whitewashing’ Natlan characters

Genshin Impact recently revealed new characters for its upcoming region, Natlan. The Genshin Impact community, including fans and voice actors, is expressing their dismay and calling out Genshin Impact developers HoYoverse for "whitewashing" the characters.

Natlan is one of the regions in Teyvat, the world wherein Genshin Impact takes place in. Mentions and appearances of the region during various teasers heavily reference Latin American, African, Hispanic, and Aboriginal Australian cultures.

Even the region's name, "Natlan," is likely derived from either Aztec or Nahuatl cultures.

This led many to expect that the characters who hail from that region will have appropriate skin tones, and rightfully so. However, the recent Genshin Impact "Ignition Teaser" which gave us a first look at many of the Natlan characters revealed that they were lacking in the melanin department.

The vocal portion of the community seems to think that yes, Natlan characters have been whitewashed. Furthermore, this isn't the first time that Genshin Impact has been in hot water for this same issue.

Sumeru, another in-game region, is heavily inspired by South Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. Characters hailing from that region also notably lacked the appropriate skin tone.

Valeria Rodríguez, who voices Sucrose, was among the first who spoke out. "If you’re going to use real-world deities, RESPECT them. If you’re basing off of real cultures, RESPECT THAT," they wrote on X.

They posted a side-by-side photo of Ọlọrun, next to god-based MOBA SMITE's representation of the deity, and Ororon, Genshin's version. Rodríguez also reposted a thread that outlines the sources of each Natlan character's name and the "harmful" effects of their incorrect names.

Alejandro Saab, the voice of Cyno, responded to this post, saying "I didn’t know THATS who he’s based on… AH that’s bad." He also posted on his VTuber X account.

"If a game draws so heavily from real-world cultures and bases a character on the supreme deity of Yoruba religion, and that character ends up looking like pale sasuke batman, people are absolutely within their rights to demand better representation," Albedo's voice actor Khoi Dao chipped in. "Especially when said game has a glearly-stated commitment to a global audience. I hope y'all [keep making] your voices heard, and I hope they listen."

Bill Butts, the voice of Owlbert from other HoYoverse title Honkai: Star Rail, opted for a less direct post. "Dark skin is beautiful. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise," wrote Butts.

Content creators and the general fanbase have also been vocal about the issue.

"People have every right to be upset [and] call it out," posted dish.

Zy0x, another Genshin Impact creator, has yet to post about the issue using his own words but is amplifying relevant posts from the community.

This X post regarding Ororon/Olorun is another that Zy0x reposted.

People belonging to the cultures and beliefs from which Genshin Impact took names generally felt "disrespected" and misrepresented.

"As someone from the culture Chasca is ostensibly supposed to represent, I am disappointed by how predictable this reaction is to such an insult to my people," wrote one user.

Mavuika, named after the Maori god Mahuika, is "very whitewashed," according to one New Zealander user.

Natlan is expected to go live on August 28th, 2024 with the Genshin Impact version 5.0 update. Stick around on esports.gg for more updates.