Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Genshin Impact will add controller support on Android in Version 5.5.
- Controller support has been available on iOS since Version 1.3, released in February 2021.
- The update is expected to launch on March 26, 2025.
Five years after the open-world gacha giant Genshin Impact took the world by storm, Android users will soon finally be able to play with a controller. In the latest Developer’s Discussion posted earlier today, miHoYo announced that controller support will be added to the Android version of the game as part of Version 5.5.
The post only lists four compatible controllers: Dualshock 4 Wireless Controller, DualSense Wireless Controller, Xbox Wireless Controller, and Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. Notably, all of these are wireless controllers that require Bluetooth to function. In other words, USB-C-based telescopic gamepads like Razer Kishi may not be officially supported.
Controller support has been available on iOS since February 2021, but not on Android until now.
Until now, controller support on Android has been a strange omission. miHoYo added controller support on iOS in February 2021 as part of Version 1.3, less than six months after the game’s initial release in September 2020. Many fans have speculated that Apple paid to have the feature exclusively on iOS, but whatever the case, it hasn’t been addressed until now.
As a result, Android users have had to resort to workarounds, typically using software to allow button-mapping overlays. This required additional setup, and the resulting gameplay wasn’t as smooth as official controller support.
Version 5.5 is expected to launch on March 26, 2025. A live Special Program Announcement on Twitch and YouTube will reveal more details about the update’s content on March 14.
Genshin Impact continues to be one of the most popular games in the world, with more than 60 million estimated monthly players. It’s now available on Android, iOS, Windows, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox Series X/S. A Nintendo Switch version has been in development since 2020, but miHoYo hasn’t announced anything about it in years. Considering the game’s continued popularity, it would make an interesting launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2.
