Genshin Impact 2.6 release time

The Genshin Impact 2.6 release time for the Zephyr of the Violet Garden update is nearly here, which means you can wish on the Ayato banner soon. The new kid on the block is the headline attraction of the next patch, though you’ve also got a Venti banner rerun to look forward to alongside a new area called the Chasm to explore. While that’s all exciting, you’ll want to do some preparation to play the anime game’s next update right away.

Mihoyo confirms that Genshin Impact’s 2.6 update pre-loads are live, so you have everything you need to prepare for the new wave of content. Pre-installing updates is a doddle, thankfully. Open the launcher once it’s updated, and you should find a ‘game pre-installation’ option where the ‘launch’ button used to be. Mihoyo advises that using the pre-installation function can “speed up the update progress of the launcher during version updates”.

The good news is that you can still play Genshin Impact while pre-installing game resources. Mihoyo says that pre-loading the update takes up a certain amount of your network’s bandwidth, so it’s worth checking out your connection quality before deciding if you fancy doing it.

The Genshin Impact 2.6 release time is 8pm PST / 11pm EST on March 29, and 4am BST on March 30. Mihoyo expects maintenance to last for five hours when it begins at 3pm PST / 6pm EST / 11pm BST on March 29. As always, keep in mind that something unexpected may arise, though the developer is usually pretty punctual when releasing content when it says it will.

To make the wait easier, you’ll get 60 primogems for every hour the servers are down, which adds up to 300 primogems. Better yet, Mihoyo will pay out the total amount regardless of whether the update is completed early or not.

Ayato’s banner kicks off when Genshin Impact’s 2.6 update releases, featuring four-star characters Sucrose, Xiangling, and Yun Jin. Meanwhile, Venti’s rerun begins simultaneously and involves the same trio of supporting folk.