Genshin 7.1: 6th Anniversary Free 5-Star, Anime Games Clash

What happened in the Genshin 7.1 Special Program

Poster on September 7, livestream on September 12 across eight platforms

HoYoverse published the 7.1 poster for "A Rekviem for the Underworld" on September 7 and scheduled the Special Program for 8:00 PM on Saturday, September 12, simulcast on eight platforms. As usual, three redemption codes worth 300 Primogems in total were released, expiring at noon on September 15, with separate codes for the China and global servers .

Banners: Vesna and Skirk first half, Vodyanitsa and Escoffier second

Per circulating schedules, 7.1 phase one pairs new five-star Vesna (Anemo) with Skirk, while phase two pairs new five-star Vodyanitsa (Hydro) with Escoffier. Vesna is described as an Anemo carry built around the Stellar Swirl system and Vodyanitsa as a healer-buffer. Banner lineups and character numbers sit at leak tier — treat them as unconfirmed until official announcements and live-server testing .

The anniversary does not land in a ".0" patch for the first time since 2023

Genshin's sixth anniversary is September 28, inside 7.1. Players are used to treating the ".0" launch and the anniversary as the same event; this year the two are separated by three weeks. Third-party trackers expect 7.1 to launch on September 23; HoYoverse has not published a date.

Ripple effects: HoYoverse turned "giving" into a yearly certainty

Layer one: 300 Primogems that expire in about 48 hours

Redemption codes are valid for roughly three days and then die. That window is not a courtesy, it is traffic engineering: it pulls players back into the ecosystem at a chosen moment instead of letting them drift in whenever the patch lands.

Layer two: a free five-star selection is now the annual baseline

Since 5.0, HoYoverse has made the yearly free standard-banner five-star a ritual, expanding the pool to eight characters in 6.0. Multiple 7.1 roundups now describe an anniversary that hands over both a standard five-star and an event-exclusive one, every year from here on. That is the company conceding that gacha pressure has grown large enough to need an annual write-off.

Layer three: the story arc is the real crowd-puller

7.1 continues the Snezhnaya arc: Renova showing a boss health bar, the Jester and Dainsleif colliding, Project Mistilteinn advancing, and Rhinedottir, the Ruler of Life, arriving to speak with the Tsaritsa. For long-term players, story momentum converts better than any stat buff.

Why September is an anime-game pile-up

Genshin 7.1, Wuthering Waves 3.6 and Infinity Nikki 2.6 share one window

There is almost no gap in September's schedule. Wuthering Waves 3.6 "Mirage Lanterns, Mortal Blade" is live with two new five-star Resonators, Qingxiao (Aero) and Jingran (Fusion), per its Google Play listing. Infinity Nikki reached version 2.6 "Tomorrow at the Tide's End," opening the finale of the Yizar storyline and the new area Pancheng. Genshin 7.1 then caps the month with an anniversary. All three are throwing the same combo: big patch, new characters, main-story progress.

The more they give away, the more retention costs

There is a clear pattern: the more mature an anime game gets, the more its rewards shift from probability to certainty — guaranteed characters, selectable constellations, free outfits. User acquisition costs are climbing while conversion falls, and a veteran's average spend beats an uncertain new player's. The headline of this anniversary is therefore not "how much" but "guaranteed," which is what actually protects the retention curve.

Risk check: leaks are not announcements

A free limited five-star does not fix the value problem

Give away a limited five-star every year and older players' character portfolios depreciate fast, pushing the monetisation weight onto weapons, constellations and cosmetics. Players win the short term and inherit a repriced long term.

Separate official, third-party and leak-tier information

Banner schedules, character kits and launch dates in this piece come partly from third-party trackers and test-server leaks. Official announcements, the 7.1 trailer and redemption codes govern; the 300-Primogem codes expired at noon on September 15.

My take: the most defensive anniversary HoYoverse has ever run

My first reaction to the Special Program was not excitement but steadiness. Vesna and Vodyanitsa cannot carry a spectacular anniversary conversation, and HoYoverse is clearly betting on guaranteed rewards plus story momentum instead. Neither is glamorous; both map directly onto retention metrics. What I actually want to watch is how Wuthering Waves and Infinity Nikki answer inside the same window. Competition among anime games in 2026 has moved from "whose character hits harder" to "who shares more with their own players." The players are the only winners and the only judges. Come discuss in the Gghubs comments.

FAQ

When does Genshin Impact 7.1 release?

HoYoverse has not announced a date for 7.1 "A Rekviem for the Underworld." Third-party trackers project September 23, 2026, based on 7.0's August 12 launch and the six-week patch cadence; official channels govern.

What are the Genshin 6th anniversary rewards?

The sixth anniversary lands September 28, 2026, inside version 7.1, and the rewards include 1,600 Primogems plus ten pulls, alongside the annual free five-star selection covering both the standard pool and an event-exclusive character.

When was the Genshin 7.1 livestream?

The Special Program aired at 8:00 PM on September 12, 2026, across eight platforms. HoYoverse posted the version poster on September 7, and the 300-Primogem redemption codes expired at noon on September 15.

Who are the new Genshin 7.1 characters?

Third-party roundups list new five-stars Vesna (Anemo, Stellar Swirl carry) and Vodyanitsa (Hydro, healer-buffer), with Vesna sharing phase one with Skirk and Vodyanitsa sharing phase two with Escoffier. These details are leak-tier until officially confirmed.