Genshin Impact is a massive game with a huge world to explore, so it's easy to wonder if it's an MMO.

No, Genshin Impact is not an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game. It's an open-world action role-playing game (ARPG) with optional co-op features. While you can play with friends, it doesn't have the "massively multiplayer" aspects that define an MMO.

What Makes a Game an MMO?

MMO stands for "Massively Multiplayer Online." These games typically involve a very large number of players interacting in the same persistent game world at the same time. Think of games like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV, where you see hundreds or even thousands of other players in hub cities and out in the open world, creating a bustling, live environment. Key features of an MMO often include:

• Massive Player Count: Many players (hundreds or thousands) share the same online world.
• Persistent World: The game world continues to exist and change even when you're offline.
• Social Interaction: A strong emphasis on player-to-player interaction, including guilds, large-scale events, and a shared economy.
• Shared Progression: While individual progression is key, often large-scale group content like raids or PvP battles are central.

How Genshin Impact's Multiplayer Works

Genshin Impact offers a multiplayer mode, but it's much more limited than an MMO. Here’s how it works:

• Co-op with a Few Friends: You can invite up to three other players to join your world, making a total of four players. This small group can then explore together.
• Limited Activities: In co-op, you can take on certain challenges like boss battles and specific "Domains" (dungeons). You can also help each other collect resources.
• Host's World: When you play co-op, you're always in one player's world (the host's). Story quests usually can't be progressed by guest players, and many interactions are tied to the host's game state.
• Optional Feature: Multiplayer in Genshin Impact is entirely optional. You can play through the vast majority of the game, including the main story, completely by yourself.

I remember first trying out the co-op feature after hitting Adventurer Rank 16. I was excited to explore Teyvat with my friend, thinking we could tackle everything together. It was fun fighting bosses and dungeons, but I quickly realized that the story quests were still a solo journey for each of us. It definitely made me see it more as a "play with friends for specific tasks" game rather than a world where we'd constantly bump into other players.

The main difference is the scale. In Genshin Impact, even when playing with others, you're usually only interacting with a small group of friends in one person's version of the world. An MMO, however, is designed for massive communities to exist and interact simultaneously in a single, shared online space.

For example, when I play an actual MMO, the cities are always bustling with players trading, chatting, and forming groups for raids. In Genshin Impact, even in the busiest city, it's just my characters and the NPCs unless I specifically invite someone to my world. This design focuses on a rich single-player experience with a friendly co-op option, rather than a true "massively multiplayer" environment.

Genshin Impact also offers cross-platform play, meaning players on different devices like PC, mobile, and PlayStation can play together. If you're curious about playing with friends across various systems, you can check out our post on Is Genshin Impact Cross Platform?.

If you want to make in-app purchases in Genshin Impact to get your favorite characters or weapons, you can use Playstorm to earn towards Apple or Google Play gift cards.