It seems that the Chinese legends of HoYoverse are preparing a force to capture a new territory with might and main — extremely curious tails leading directly to Steam have been discovered in the new localization files of the publisher’s account system. Fans from Reddit, by the way, unearthed these lines in the update dated January 6, 2026, and there are black and white mechanisms for linking and disconnecting links between HoYoverse accounts and the Gabe Newell platform. To be honest, error messages like “Steam records of the game were not found” almost copy the logic of working with the PlayStation Network one by one, which hints at the seriousness of intentions.
The developers plan to roll out not only Genshin Impact to the store, but also their new hits — Honkai: Star Rail or Zenless Zone Zero. By the way, there was a separate clarification in the code that entry through Valve is not available for the good old Honkai Impact 3rd, and this, along the way, confirms the work on the integration of the studio’s modern flagships. In truth, such a maneuver looks like a logical response to the pleas of the Steam Deck owners — playing through the native launcher on a laptop is still a pleasure, and the native release will solve all optimization problems. Officially, the corporation remains silent for now, but the technical traces will not lie.
At the moment, the situation with Steam at HoYoverse is, to put it mildly, strange: only Honkai Impact 3rd lives there, and in some kind of isolated pen without the ability to transfer progress from the main account.
Table of Contents
Advantages of the Genshin Impact release on the Steam store
In fact, Valve has created a reference ecosystem, against which the Epic Games Store and, moreover, the short HoyoPlay look like school crafts. Gamers are constantly at war with alternative launchers due to eternal brakes and lack of basic functions. Apparently, it’s time to sort out why moving to Steam is a salvation.
Valve’s Social Features and Cloud Saves
Steam is not just a “Play” button, but a whole universe with cloud saves, a workshop, and a coherent library. At the same time, the Epic Games Store, apparently, only knows how to distribute free junk and lure exclusives, and the interface there is still oak. HoyoPlay is generally a narrow craft exclusively for Genshin and Honkai — no mods for you, no social interaction. In short, on Steam you are the owner of your collection, and on HoyoPlay you are just a guest who has to constantly log in to different windows.
Using Steam Overlay for Guides in Genshin Impact
The overlay feature via Shift+Tab is a database that gives access to guides and chats without minimizing the window. Epic doesn’t have anything like this with this level of depth, and HoyoPlay generally ignores the existence of overlays unless you try to fasten them with crutches. In fact, in the heat of battle in Genshin, you can take a look at a character’s build or reply to a friend in a second. This saves time, which, frankly, is a sin to spend on scaling down the game in 2026.
Update download speed and Steam CDN Stability
Valve is leading the way here with its global network of servers, delivering stable 50-150 Mbps even when half the world is pumping updates. In general, their CDNs work like clockwork. Epic sometimes shows teeth, but stability there is a stretchable concept. But HoyoPlay is a true champion of complaints: with a normal 150 Mbps channel, users often see the shameful 1-2 Mbps due to server plugs. By the way, a life hack: if you limit the speed in the Steam settings to 75% of the tariff, buffering in the browser will disappear completely.
| Platform | Average Speed (Mbps) | Issues |
|---|---|---|
| Steam | 50–150 | Rare peak drops |
| Epic Games | 40–120 | Load instability under traffic spikes |
| HoYoPlay | 1–10 | Frequent bandwidth limits and network failures |
Comparing the reliability of Steam and the Epic Games Store launcher
The popular love for Steam is visible in numbers — the average rating of the platform on reviews is above 4.5. Gamers appreciate stability and convenience. On the contrary, the “Epics” are being criticized for bugs and empty store shelves, calling the servers terrible. They don’t talk about HoyoPlay in wide circles at all, but Reddit is full of posts with mats in the direction of launcher friezes. By the way, in 2025, the statistics were merciless.: 80% for Steam versus a measly 60% for EGS. It’s obvious where the grass is greener.
Support for Steam Workshop and community Guides
The Steam Workshop with the installation of mods in one click and the live skin market is what competitors are up to. Valve has been investing in user content for years: guides, reviews, and interest groups. Epic has only a basic chat, and HoyoPlay is limited to forums that are not integrated into the gameplay in any way. In fact, it’s easier to download a fashion mod on Steam, and in other places you’ll have to surf questionable sites.
By the way, Genshin Impact and the rest of the studio’s projects have long been registered in the Epic Games Store, although most of them are on the official launcher in the old-fashioned way. Genshin itself, which rolled out back in 2020, has long accustomed us to cross-platform compatibility between mobile phones, consoles and PCs. Apparently, coming to Steam will be the final chord in the strategy of total domination of HoYoverse on all fronts.
