Thanks in part to its mold-breaking genre as an open-world, multiplayer sandbox, Genshin Impact is one of the most graphically demanding gacha games in terms of requirements for its devices.
This is especially true for Mobile and iOS, considering a gacha game of this caliber has never been attempted before; the closest another game got in matching graphics quality is Honkai Impact 3rd, and they're made by the same company in miHoYo.
The game can be downloaded in APK format like most Android applications, and this got the attention from Chromebook users, who primarily use the same file format for their apps.
It didn't take long for users to feel the hype behind the game, and thus some users began wondering if they can play the game for themselves.
Unfortunately, not all of them can.
Read more - Everything you need to know about Genshin Impact 1.4
Can you play Genshin Impact on Chromebook?
The technical requirements for Genshin Impact are pretty hefty, so you need to check the specs of your unit first before planning on downloading the game.
Here are the official requirements for PC and mobile phones, taken from the official miHoYo website:
PC recommended configuration
- Operating system: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit, or Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i7 equivalent or higher
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB and higher
- DirectX version: 11
- Storage: Please reserve 30 GB of space
PC minimum configuration
- Operating system: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit or Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i5 or equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 1030 and higher
- DirectX version: 11
- Storage: Please reserve 30 GB of space
Android recommended configuration
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, Kirin 810 and above
- RAM: 4 GB and above
- Recommended system: Android 8.1 and above
Android supported configuration
- Compatibility requirements: Arm v8a 64-bit device
- Memory: 3 GB and above
- Supported system: Android 7.0 or above
- Storage: Please reserve 8 GB of space
In technicality, Chrome OS is not included in the list of supported platforms.
Some players did get around this and managed to install it, to test it out on different specifications. As noted above, compatibility requires an ARM 64-bit processor; any device that runs on 32-bit Android can't run the game.
Running the game on less-than-optimized equipment may cause the game to experience constant latency, input lag or crash, even when set on the lowest settings possible. Even the installer of the game is very unstable and prone to crashing while downloading the required data.
Tablet Chromebooks with in-built keyboards might not have said keyboards registered by the game's controls, thus forcing you to use the touchscreen commands instead.
The best suggestion for players wanting to experience the world of Teyvat is to get a device that can support the intense requirements. Even if this means using a device other than a Chromebook
High-end devices like the recent line of Samsung Galaxy Tab S series, Microsoft Surface Pro or any new iPad tablet releases should be more than enough to run the game.