Genshin Impact 2.8 Summer Fantasia comes to iOS on July 13

Genshin Impact Summer Fantasia (Image credit: HoYoverse)

What you need to know

Genshin Impact will get its big 2.8 update on July 13.
The new update is called Summer Fantasia.
Gamers can look forward to a ton of new content with the new release.

Fans of the hugely popular RPG Genshin Impact are in for a treat come July 13, with a big new version 2.8 update landing in the App Store. The new content, dubbed Summer Fantasia, will add new areas, stories, puzzles, and more.

The new update will kick off the Summertime Odyssey seasonal event, developer HoYoverse announced over the weekend. The Golden Apple Archipelago has undergone a drastic makeover, a press release goes on to say, noting that we can expect new realms, "extensive exploration gameplay," and more treasure to hunt for. We're also told to look out for "unexpected storylines about the Traveler's companions."

That all sounds pretty great, but the trailer is what really sells the new update. Check it out, and prepare to begin counting down the days until July 13.

The height of summer is a wonderful time of the year, and there are always many strange, interesting events taking place. A cursed blade of unknown origin, a mysterious unsolved case, and the familiar but not too familiar islands far at sea..."O seasoned warriors, fear not the depths of despair and death borne from chaos!" "For the Prinzessin, holiest of sovereigns of the kingdom where the night is sacred, will therefore declare the verdict of victory."And so, everyone followed the path of their destiny, ready to take on unknown encounters and challenges.

Those who already have Genshin Impact installed will see the new update arrive in the App Store in a week or so, while everyone else can download the game right now — it's free with in-app purchases and can be played on iPhone and iPad. Note that you'll need a device running iOS 12 or iPadOS 12 or newer, with the more modern devices likely to give the best experience in terms of performance.

If you want to upgrade your Apple Arcade gaming experience, check out our list of the best game controllers for mobile gaming.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.