Genshin Impact cross-save is kinda weird on PlayStation – here's how to set things up

Genshin Impact is getting cross-save support for all platforms in update 2.0 on July 21, meaning PS4 and PS5 users will soon be able to access their account on mobile or make the jump to PC if they'd like. 

There's just one small catch. If you've been playing Genshin Impact on PlayStation, you'll need to link your account before changing platforms, which might involve making a new email address. If you haven't played Genshin on PlayStation and you'd like to, you can link the email tied to your current MiHoYo account to your PlayStation account, but you'll need to do so before actually starting the game on console for the first time. 

MiHoYo explained this oddly fiddly setup in a new blog post. "The pop-up window prompting you to link your accounts only appears when your account for PSN enters the game for the first time, after you agree to the Terms of Service," MiHoYo explains. "You can only link an existing MiHoYo account from this pop-up window. If you skip the pop-up, your account for PSN will log in to the game and register a MiHoYo account, after which it can no longer be linked to an email address that is already associated with a separate MiHoYo account."

So if you're a PS4 or PS5 user looking to play Genshin Impact on other platforms, just connect your PSN email to a MiHoYo account through the "Link Account" tab of the user center page under your PlayStation account settings. 

Meanwhile, if you're a PC or mobile user looking to play on PS4/PS5 – perhaps to snag the PlayStation-exclusive glider and weapon – be sure to use the email tied to your MiHoYo account at the pop-up screen described above the very first time you open the game on your console. 

As a reminder, wait until July 21 to set this up. 

Note that you can only share progress between platforms, not servers, so you'll have to stay in your original region. You can't unlink accounts either, so make sure you're saving the right account – don't accidentally tie yourself to an old reroll or something. 

There's one more oddity with Genshin Impact's PlayStation cross-save: Genesis Crystals, the premium in-game currency which can be converted to Primogems, won't transfer between platforms. However, characters and weapons that you obtain using purchased Genesis Crystals will be available on all linked platforms. So if you're a PC player and you already have some Genesis Crystals in the bank, you won't be able to spend those Crystals while playing on PS4 or PS5, but you can always log back in on PC to convert them into Primogems and use them to Wish for characters or weapons which will be available wherever you play. It's kind of weird, but if you only purchase stuff on one platform, it shouldn't matter. 

Genshin Impact update 2.0 is bringing the stunning and long-awaited Inazuma region, and 9 new characters have been teased already.